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DISTILLING  IN  GERMANY 


^  -i  c/'  7 


WITH   PABTICUAR    EEFERENCE  TO   ITS 


AGRICULTURAL  SIGNIFICANCE 


A  Part  of  a  Thesis  Presented  to  the  University  of  Michigan 

By  carl  H.  cooper 

For  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy, 


No  person  visiting  Germany,  who  has  the  opportunity  to 
observe  the  industry  and  the  agriculture  of  the  country,  cau 
faijl  to  be  impressed  with  the  large  number  of  distilleries  and 
breweries  everywhere  to  be  found.  The  preparation  of  alco- 
holic liquors  is,  to-day,  one  of  the  most  important  branches  of 
German  industry,  and  in  many  ways  occupies  a  peculiar  posi- 
tion in  the  industrial  life  of  the  Nation. 

As  the  result  of  an  interest  in  the  subject  awakened  through 
favorable  opportunities  for  observation,  a  study  of  the  alcohol 
industry  was  made  by  the  writer,  both  distilling  and  brewing; 
being  considered.  It  was  attempted  to  trace  the  hi^oric  de- 
velopment, and  to  discover  the  present  economic  significance, 
industrially  and  socially,  of  this  very  important  branch  of 
business  activity. 

The  present  paper  is  a  portion  of  the  former  one,  consider- 
ably altered,  and  with  much  of  the  statistical  material 
omitted,  and  seeks  to  trace  the  development  and  present  con- 
dition of  distilling,  particular  attention  being  given  to  its 
agricultural  significance. 


II. 


^^^^^ 


I.     The  Industry  Before  the  Nmeteentii  Century, 
a.  Early  Knowledge  of  Spirits. 

h.  Introduction  into  Germany  and  Spread  of  Its  Use. 
c.  Character  of  Early  Distilling. 

The  Industry  from  the  Beginning   of  the  Nineteenth 
.  Century  to  1887. 

a.  N'orth  German  States. 

1.  Introduction. 

2.  Prussia. 

3.  Eemaining  States. 
(a)   Introduction. 

(h)    Saxony,  Thuringia,  etc. 

b.  South  German  States. 

1.  Bavaria. 

2.  Wurtemberg. 

3.  Baden. 

III.     The  Present  Industry, 
a.  Introduction. 
h.  Number  of  Distilleries. 

c.  Distribution. 

d.  Character. 

e.  Labor. 

/.  Materials  used. 

1.  Potatoes.      2.  Grain.      3.  Molasses.      4.  Other 
Materials. 
g.  Product,  Amount  and  Character. 
IV.     Possible  Developments. 

a.  The  Extensive  Use  of  Spirits  for  Technical  Pur- 
poses, and  the  Possible  Eesults  Therefrom. 

I.     The  Industry  Before  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
a.  Early  Knowledge  of  Spirits. 

Though  wine  and  beer  were  known  to  the  ancients,  spirits 
in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word  were  not.^  Alcohol  was 
originally  exclusively  distilled  from  wine,  according  to  Mar- 
cus Gracus^  who  described  the  process  in  the  eighth  century 

1.  StahlBchmidt,  C,  "  Die  Gaehrungs  Chemie."    Berlin,  1868;  p.  270. 

2.  Baer,  "  Alcoholismus."    Leipsic,  1876  ;  p.  20. 


V,. 


c- 


A.  D.,  and  as  the  German  name  *'brannt-wein''  would  indi- 
cate. However  the  distillation  of  grain  was  known  to  Rhazes 
as  early  as  860  A.  D.^  In  the  eleventh  century  Afrikasas,  a 
Spanish  physician,  mentions  alcohol  in  his  writings,  and  it 
was  known  to  other  chemists  and  physicians,  but  the  methods 
of  preparation  were  treated  as  a  mystery.- 

h.  Introduction  into  Germany  and  Spread  of  Its  Use. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  through  the  Arabians,  it  began 
to  be  used  as  a  medicine,  and  quantities  were  introduced  into 
Germany  from  Italy,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, as  a  remedy  against  the  plague.  Until  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century  it  appears  to  have  been  used  chiefly  as  a 
medicine  or  elixir  of  life,  but  during  the  following  decades 
its  use  as  a  beverage  became  so  common  that  the  quantity  pro- 
duced from  wine  was  not  sufficient  to  supply  the  demand,  and 
the  practice  of  distilling  wine  lees  and  beer  residues  began. 
In  a  short  time  distilling  became  a  sort  of  branch  of  brewing.^ 
Finally,  the  increasing  use  led  to  the  direct  production  of 
alcohol  from  grain,  which  dates  from  1590.*  The  evils  re- 
sulting from  the  use  of  spirits,  as  w^ell  as  the  fear  of  famine, 
caused  through  the  distillation  of  grain,  induced  many 
princes  to  issue  mandates  forbidding  or  controlling  the  pro- 
•duction  and  use  of  acohol. 

The  landgrave  of  Hesse  forbade  the  use  of  alcohol  in  1524. 
All  distillation  but  that  from  wine  and  brewers'  grains  was 
forbidden  in  Electoral  Saxony  in  1595,  and  in  Bavaria  in 
1553  and  1604.^  Absolute  prohibition,  of  the  use  of  spirits  as 
a  beverage  was  frequently  enforced  during  the  entire  four- 
teenth century,  but  distilling  also  began  to  be  recognized  as 
a  productive  industry,  needing  rather  to  be  controlled  than 
to  be  suppressed. 

The  Thirty  Years'  War  resulted  in  greatly  increasing  the 
consumption  of  spirits;  camp  life,    the    destruction   of    the 

1.  Hoefer,  F.,  "  Histoire  de  la  Cemie."    Paris,  1869 ;  p.  341. 

2.  Stahlschmidt,  pre.  cit.,  p.  270. 

3.  Meitzen,  Aug.,  "  Der  Boden  u  die  landwirtschaftliche  Verhaeltnisse  des  Pr. 
Staates.    Berlin,  1862;  vol.  ii.,  p.  378. 

4.  Stahlschmidt,  pre.  cit.,  p.  270. 

5.  Wolf,  "  Der  Branntweinsteuer,"  p.  44. 


239392 


vineyards,  and  the  misery  of  the  period  contributing  to  thi& 
end.  However,  its  use  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  cities,  and 
it  was  not  until  after  the  Seven  Years'  War  that  alcohol  be- 
came the  drink  of  the  poor  peasants,  among  whom  the  habit 
spread  with  great  rapidity.^ 

c.  Character  of  Early  Distilling. 

In  the  beginning,  production  was  chiefly  carried  on  in 
cities.  In  Prussia,  the  Great  Elector  forbade  distillation  out- 
side the  cities,  and  not  until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury was  the  privilege  extended  to  the  manors.-  This; 
monopoly  was  very  important  to  the  towns,  as  the  distilleries, 
not  being  hampered  at  first  by  guild  restrictions,  and  having 
a  ready  sale  for  their  prcciuct  at  good  prices,  grew  rapidly. 
Dreyhaupt,  in  1750,  called  the  business  "Eine  Alte  Nahrung" 
of  Halle,  which  had  35  distilleries  in  1756,  and  the  safue  was 
true  of  many  other  cities,  particularly  those  situated  in  good 
grain  growing  districts.^  With  the  poor  transportation  facil- 
ities, grain  was  not  easily  and  profitably  disposed  of;  but 
when  distilled  into  alcohol,  rye  became  a  much  more  portable, 
valuable  commodity,  and  in  addition  the  waste  of  the  stili 
furnished  an  excellent  food  for  animals.  So  swine  raising- 
was  carried  on  in  connection  with  distilling,  witl^  vei^  lucra- 
tive results.  The  gains  soon  showed  themselves-^till  greater 
in  connection  with  cattle-feeding,  so  land-owners  hastened  to 
establish  stills  on  their  possessions,  in  order  to  profit  through 
the  maintenance  of  more  cattle,  which  the  by-products  of  the 
distillery  alone  made  possible. 

With  the  growth  of  the  industry,  and  a  recognition  of  its 
agricultural  importance,  the  earlier  restrictions  against  the 
use  of  grain  were  removed,  as  the  States  now  wished  rather  to . 
foster  than  to  hinder  the  development  of  what  had  become  a 
weighty  source  of  revenue.  As  early  as  the  sixteenth  centuryv 
taxes  began  to  be  levied  on  alcohol  by  German  States,  chiefl/ 
as  local  taxes  on  consumption.     In  Bavaria,  Amberg  imposed. 


1.  Baer,  pre.  cit.,  p.  223. 

2.  Wolf;  p. 45. 

3.  Schwetschke,  Gewerbliche  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Halle.    Halle,  1883;  pp. 
211  and  216. 


a  local  tax  on  spirits  in  1527,  while  a  tax  on  imports  and  ex- 
ports was  established,  for  all  the  provinces,  in  1542.  Such 
taxes  were  also  raised  in  Brandenburg,  in  1575;  in  Saxony, 
in  1595;  and  in  various  other  States,  and  by  the  end  of  the 
following  century  alcohol  taxes  were  generally  an  important 
part  of  the  revenue  system.^ 
II.  From  the  Beginning  cf  the  Nineteenth  Century  to  18S7. 
a.  North  German  States. 
1.  Introduction. 
A  study  of  the  statistic?  of  the  production  of  alcoholic 
liquors  in  the  different  states  of  Germany  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  gives  one  a  good  idea  of  the  agricultural  and 
industrial  changes  that  have  taken  place  within  this  long 
period,  and  of  the  influence  which  the  formation  of  the  Cus- 
toms Union,  the  improved  transportation  facilities,  the  intro- 
duction of  steam  power  and  machinery,  industrial  freedom, 
the  growth  of  capitalism,  and  the  creation  of  the  German  Em- 
pire, have  had  on  agriculture  and  industry  in  general.  In 
Germany,  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  trade  and  produc- 
tion were  still  hampered  by  almost  mediaeval  restrictions. 
The  craft  guilds  still  existed  in  many  places  and  with  their 
regulations  (Bann  and  Zwang  Rechten)  exerted  an  injurious 
effect  on  industrial  development.  Still  more  harmful,  how- 
ever, was  the  division  of  Germany  into  a  large  numljer  of  in- 
'dependent  tax  and  tariff  districts,  which  made  extensive  trade 
tilmost  impossible.  Agriculture  was  still  carried  on  in  a  very 
primitive  way,  little  if  any  improvement  having  been  made 
for  centuries.  Mecanical  aids,  with  the  exception  of  those 
I)orrowed  from  the  ancients,  were  unknown.  The  method  of 
cultivation  was  the  so-called  three-field  system,  in  which  grain 
is  raised  upon  the  land  for  two  years,  while  during  the  third 
year  the  field  lies  fallow,  i.  e.,  not  sown,  but  plowed  and  cul- 
tivated in  order  to  cleanse  it  from  the  weeds,  which  cannot  be 
destroyed  when  land  is  sown  to  grain.  Under  this  system  of 
•agriculture,  which  was  universal,  one-third  of  the  farming 
land  of  Germany  lay  idle  and  a  great  economic  loss  resulted. 

1.    Wolf,  "  Die  Branntweinsteuer,"  p.  82. 


The  beginning  of  the  century  was  marked  by  a  great  increase- 
in  the  consumption  of  alcoholic  liquors  of  all  kinds,  which 
was  largely  occasioned  by  the  economic  difficulties  and  horrors- 
of  the  Napoleonic  period,  and  the  spread  of  the  custom  through 
the  returning  armies.  Distilleries  and  production  increased 
very  rapidly,  particularly  in  the  countr}-,  where  the  raw  ma- 
terials were  close  at  hand.  This  period  of  growth  was  also 
one  of  reform.  The  abolition  of  mediaeval  conditions,  the 
creation  of  a  Customs  Union  and  the  introduction  of  uniform 
taxation  have  been  most  potent  in  aiding  the  industrial  de- 
velopment of  Germany,  and  as  the  first  steps  toward  reform 
were  usually  taken  by  Prussia  we  will  first  consider  that  king- 
dom. 

2.  Prussia. 

Prussia,  containing  some  of  the  most  fertile  districts  of 
Germany,  well  suited  to  the  raising  of  rye  and  other  grains, 
possessed  a  considerable  distilling  industry  at  the  beginning 
of  the  century.  The  establishments  were  chiefly  found  in  the 
important  agricultural  provinces  of  Silesia,  Saxony,  Bran- 
denburg, East  Prussia  and  Posen.  There  were  a  considerable 
number  of  distilleries  of  fair  size  running  the  year  round  and 
found  in  or  near  the  cities.  Then,  in  the  cities,  were  the 
little  stills  connected  with  a  bar,  over  which  the  product  was 
dispensed.  In  the  country,  the  majority  of  the  plants  were 
run  only  during  the  fall  and  winter  months  or  as  long  as  the 
grain  lasted  and  in  connection  with  agriculture.  Those  of  the 
district  along  the  Rhine  were  operated  only  a  few  days  or 
weeks,  and  produced  brandy  from  the  spoiled  fruit,  wine  lees, 
etc.  Finally,  numerous  brewers  still  continued  to  produce 
whisky  from  the  brewers'  grains,  or  that  part  of  the  malted 
grain  remaining  after  the  wort  has  been  extracted.  The 
growth  of  the  industry  was  greatly  hampered,  however,  by  the 
various  taxes  to  which  it  was  subjected. 

Prussia  still  retained  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  an 
antiquated  and  complicated  excise  system,  of  which  many 
features  had  been  borrowed  from  the  French.  iVlcohol  was 
placed  under  different  taxes  in  all  the  various  provinces  and 
cities.     Distinctions  were  made  between  country  and  city  dis- 


tillers,  and  boundry  taxes  were  raised  by  the  several  divisions 
of  the  monarchy.  In  all  there  were  67  different  tariffs  ex- 
isting/ Under  the  Stein-Hardenburg  ministry  steps  were 
taken  to  free  the  industry  from  some  of  these  claims.  First, 
the  ancient  monopoly  rights  of  production  and  sale  (Brannt- 
weinzwang),  held  by  guilds  and  individuals,  were  largely  an- 
nulled by  the  edict  of  October  28,  1810.  Then  the  edicts  of 
October  27th  and  November  20th  of  the  same  year  taxed  all 
distilleries^  city  and  country,  alike. ^  The  form  of  the  levy 
was  the  still  tax,  controlled  through  a  tax  on  materials,  viz., 
a  tax  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  worm.  This  position  of 
equality  with  the  city  distilleries,  the  heavier  burden,  and  the 
novelty  of  indirect  taxation,  resulted  in  such  complaints  from 
the  country  distillers  that  the  raising  of  the  tax  was  soon  sus- 
pended, except  as  one  on  materials.  Another  attempt  at  a 
still  tax  was  made  by  the  edict  of  September  7,  1811,  which 
retained  the  tax  in  its  earlier  form  and  height  for  the  cities, 
but  lowered  it  seventy-five  per  cent,  for  the  country.  The  ad- 
dition of  territory  through  the  wars  of  1813-15  had  introduced 
new  complications  into  the  tax  system,  and  in  1819  (Febru- 
ary 8th)  the  still  tax  was  extended  over  all  parts  of  Prussia.^ 
After  1811  the  complaints  of  the  farmers  over  the  new  form 
of  taxation  largely  ceased,  as  the  industry  had  gone  to  work  to 
produce  as  much  alcohol  as  possible  in  a  short  time ;  or  in  the 
twenty-four  hours  taken  by  the  law  as  the  standard  distilling 
period,  to  produce  more  alcohol  than  the  law  assumed,  thus 
saving  tax.  During  the  second  decade  of  the  century  distill- 
ing- developed  with  great  rapidity.  This  was  largely  the  re- 
sult of  the  low  prices  for  agricultural  products  which  followed 
the  Napoleonic  wars.  Alcohol  remained  high^in  price  and 
distillation  was  considered  the  best  means  of  utilizing  the 
grain.  So  large  numbers  of  land-owners  erected  stills. 
There  were  in  Prussia  in  1812,  19,203  such  plants;  in  1816, 
24,092 ;  and  in  1820,  35,364.* 

1.  Conrad's  "  Handwoerterbuch  der  Staatswissenschaften ;"  1st  ed.,  vol.  ii. 
p.  557. 

2.  Wolf's  Branntweinsteuer,  p.  49. 

3.  Wolf.pre.  cit.,  p.  53. 

4.  Meitzen,  "Boden  u.  landwirtschaftliche  Verhaeltnisse,  Etc.;"   vol.  ii.,p. 
392. 


The  problem  which  the  still  tax  had  set  before  the  distillers 
soon  bore  fruit  in  great  technical  advance.  Improved  stills 
were  invented  by  Pistorius  and  Dorn/  which  permitted 
direct  distillation  from  the  mash,  and  shortened  the  time  very 
materially.  But  these  advantages  were  chiefly  for  the  larger 
city  establishments,  which  could  profit  through  the  best  ap- 
paratus and  the  most  economic  conduct  of  the  business.  On 
the  other  hand,  country  distilling  was  a  business  secondary  to 
and  dependent  on  agriculture.  The  extent  and  time  of  dis- 
tilling was  largely  controlled  by  the  amount  of  land  cultivated, 
the  number  of  cattle,  the  harvest,  the  fodder,  etc.  In  addi- 
tion, the  farmer  could  not  give  the  attention  to  distilling 
necessary  for  its  most  economic  conduct,  nor  could  he  utilize 
fully  the  improved  methods.  Consequently,  the  burden  of  the 
tax  rested  more  heavily  on  the  country  than  on  the  industrial 
distillers,  and  the  former  began  to  complain  very  loudly  of 
the  unjust  taxation.  It  was  recognized  that  if  agriculture 
was  to  retain  the  benefit  derived  from  distilling,  a  reform 
must  be  brought  about  which  would  make  the  farmers 
stronger  in  competition  and  burden  all  equally.  So  in  1820 
(December  1st),  after  careful  consideration,  the  still  tax  was 
abandoned  and  a  tax  on  the  capacity  of  the  mash  tub  (Maisch- 
raumstener)  introduced  as  an  experiment  and  definitely 
adopted  January  20,  1822,  after  experience  had  shown  that  it 
was  an  improvement  over  the  other  system.^ 

Of  all  forms  of  taxation  that  upon  the  capacity  of  the  mash 
tub  is  the  best  for  building  up  the  industry,  technically  and 
mechanically.  It  sets  the  problem  before  the  distillers  of 
producing  the  most  alcohol  possible  from  the  smallest  volume 
of  mash,  in  order  to  evade  part  of  the  tax.  To  accomplish 
this,  more  alcohol-producing  materials  to  the  same  amount  of 
water  must  be  mashed  in  the  same  size  tub  than  before,  or 
thicker  mashing  must  be  resorted  to.  But  in  thick  mashing 
the  fermentation  was  not  complete  and  a  loss  of  materials  re- 

1.  S.  Meyer,  Die  Internationale  Spiritus  Production;  art.  i.,  p.  145.  Viertel- 
jahrsschrift  fuer  Volkswirtschaft,  188^. 

2.  Wolf  pre.  cit.  p.  55.  At  the  rate  of  52  marks  a  hundred  hectoliters  of  mash 
tub,  2  per  cent,  of  pure  alcohol  being  taken  as  standard. 


suited.  In  addition,  the  mashes  had  been  cooked  over  an 
open  tire  up  to  this  time,  which  endangered  burning  when  they 
were  too  thick.  But  these  difficulties  were  solved  by  the  de- 
velopment of  stronger  ferments,  which  fully  fermented  the 
starch  in  thick  mashes,  and  by  the  introduction  of  steam  cook- 
ing apparatus.  Through  these  improvements  it  was  soon  pos- 
sible to  mash  as  thickly  as  in  the  ratio  of  one  part  of  dry  sub- 
stance to  six  or  seven  of  water,  while  the  ratio  assumed  by  the 
law  was  one  to  eight.  In  other  words,  from  every  one  hun- 
dred quarts  of  mash  not  the  legal  four  but  from  six  to  eight 
quarts  of  alcohol  were  produced.^  But  the  small,  particularly 
the  agricultural  distilleries,  could  not  make  such  rapid  ad- 
vances as  the  industrial,  and  many  of  the  improved  appliances 
were  too  expensive  as  well  as  not  economic  in  a  distillery  of 
small  capacity  run  only  a  few  months  of  the  year.  In  addi- 
tion, the  revenue  officials  recognized  that  the  improved  technic 
had  really  lowered  the  tax;  so  through  the  Cabinet  order  of 
January  10,  1824,  an  attempt  was  made  to  aid  the  farmers 
and  also  to  raise  the  tax,  which  was  fixed  at  62  marks  a  hecto- 
liter, or  the  yield  taken  as  2.-1  per  cent,  of  pure  alcohol.  The 
farmers  using  only  grain  or  potatoes  were  taxed  one-eighth 
less.^ 

In  spite  of  the  technical  and  mechanical  disadvantages  un- 
der which  the  country  distillers  worked,  the  natural  advan- 
tage coming  from  their  connection  with  the  soil  were  sufficient 
to  impart  great  elasticity  and  competitive  strength  to  them. 
As  long  as  distilling  paid  for  itself  production  could  be  con- 
tinued, for  the  advantage  of  the  fodder  and  the  manure  re- 
mained. The  small  city  distillers,  on  the  other  hand,  pos- 
sessed no  such  advantage  and  when  the  large  firms  lowered 
the  price  of  alcohol  they  were  in  most  cases  forced  to  discon- 
tinue. 

A  great  assistance  was  given  to  the  country  distillers  about 
this  time  by  an  agricultural  revolution,  accomplished  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  xllbrecht  Thaer,^  the  great  agricultural 

1.  Glaeser,  Die  Steuer-Systemebei  der  Branntweinfabtikation.  Brieg,  1868, 
p.  33. 

2.  Heckel,  in  Hwb.  der  Staatswissenchaften,  2  ed.,  vol.  ii,  p.  1063. 

3.  For  an  account  of  Thaer's  life  and  services,  see  Meitzen,  pre  clt.  vol.  ii,  p.  14. 


10 

reformer  of  Germany.  It  was  chiefly  through  his  activities 
that  the  antiquated  three-field  system  of  cultivation  was  given 
up  and  modern  methods  introduced  in  its  stead.  As  we  have 
seen,  the  fallows  of  the  three-field  system  had  the  purpose  of 
allowing  the  destruction  of  the  weeds,  which  could  not  be  ac- 
complished with  a  grain  crop.  Thaer  advocated  the  cultiva- 
tion of  root  crops,  such  as  potatoes,  turnips,  beets,  etc.,  on  the 
fallows  that  have  the  advantage  of  being  planted  some  dis- 
tance apart,  so  allowing  the  cleansing  of  the  soil,  and  at  the 
same  time  yielding  a  valuable  crop.  Thus  one-third  of  the 
land  is  saved  to  culture,  and  the  value  of  the  soil  is  much  in- 
creased. Of  these  crops  the  potato  proved  of  incalculable 
worth  to  the  farmers  of  Germany,  and  particularly  to  those 
engaged  in  distilling;  therefore,  we  will  consider  its  introduc- 
tion and  cultivation  somewhat  in  detail. 

Though  the  knowledge  of  the  potato  in  Germany  extends 
back  to  the  sixteenth  century,  it  having  been  grown  in  Frank- 
furt am  Main  in  1588  as  a  botanical  curiosity,  its  culture,  to 
any  extent,  did  not  begin  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  when  its  value  as  an  article  of  food  began  to  be  ap- 
preciated during  the  years  of  famine  and  crop  failure  after 
the  Seven  Years'  War.  Frederick  the  Great  did  much  to  in- 
troduce it  in  his  domain,  and  spread  its  culture  in  Pommer- 
ania  and  Silesia  by  force.  However,  it  was  not  until  the 
adoption  of  Thaer's  ideas  that  the  potato  was  taken  from  the 
garden  and  made  a  real  agricultural  plant.^  It  prospers  best 
on  thin  sandy  soil,  warm  and  dry,  and  Northern  Germany  is 
particularly  well  suited  to  its  culture.  In  fact,  whole  districtk? 
that  were  formerly  barren  wastes  have  been  reclaimed  through 
the  potato.  The  amount  of  sandy  soil  and  ground  classified 
as  sand  in  the  eight  old  Prussian  provinces,  particularly  in  the 
six  eastern  ones,  is  surprising.  Of  the  entire  surface  of  the 
kingdom  the  average  amount  of  sandy  loam  and  loamy  sand  is 
27.4  per  cent.,  and  of  sand  24.3.  The  average  for  the  six  east- 
em  provinces  is  37.9  and  33.0  respectively.  The  per  cent,  of 
sandy  loam  and  loamy  sand  runs  as  high  as. 48.0  in  Posen, 

1,    Meyer's  Conv.  Lexicon,  4  ed..  art.  Kartoflfel,  p.  573. 


11 

while  that  of  sand  is  42.5  in  Brandenburg.^  But  the  potato 
is  a  bulky  product  and  its  value  will'  not  permit  transportation 
to  a  distant  market.  It  cannot  be  kept  more  than  nine  or  ten 
months,  and  is  easily  spoiled  through  frost,  rot,  etc.  Conse- 
quently, in  order  to  profit  most  through  its  culture,  where  this 
is  carried  on  extensiveh^,  it  must  be  manufactured  into  a  prod- 
uct which  can  he  easily  stored  and  transported.  This  product 
may  be  either  alcohol  or  starch. 

The  potato  can  be  mashed  much  thicker  than  grain  or  beets, 
and  consequently  yields  more  alcohol  from  the  same  sized 
mash  tub.  It  also  produces  a  much  larger  crop  to  the  acre 
than  grain,  while  the  value  of  grain  and  potato  spirits  does 
not  differ  greatly.  In  1829,  a  Prussian  statistician  made  the 
following  comparison  :^ 

"One  Morgen  of  land  produces  6  sheffels  of  rye  and  1  Mor- 
gen  of  land  produces  at  least  80  sheffels  of  potatoes;  but  6 
sheffels  of  rye  yield  72  quarts  of  80  per  cent,  alcohol,  while  80 
sheffels  of  potatoes  yield  400  quarts  of  80  per  cent,  alcohol/' 

These  advantages  were  soon  recognized  by  the  distillers,  and 
from  the  moment  that  technical  improvements  allowed  the  re- 
moval of  the  unpleasant  and  injurious  fusel-oil,^  which  is 
present  in  raw  potato  alcohol  in  large  quantities,  potatoes  were 
everywhere  introduced  into  the  distilleries,  particularly  among 
the  farmers.  In  addition,  from  1827  on,  the  price  of  grain 
rose,  and  the  land-owners  who  wished  to  sell  their  grain  at 
good  prices,  but  still  did  not  wish  to  loose  the  agricultural  ad- 
vantage of  distilling,  went  more  and  more  over  to  the  safer 
and  more  profitable  potato.* 

The  general  condition  of  distilling  in  Prussia  about  1830 
was  one  of  prosperity,  and  C.W.Ferber,  a  writer  of  the  period, 
de^ribes  it  as  follows : 

"Whether  one  observes  the  raw  material,  which  the  land  ex- 
culsively  supplies,  the  increased  value  of  the  material  from  its 

1.  From  Jahrbuch  fuer  die  amtliche  Statistik  des  preuss.  Staates,  vol.  iii, 
1869,  p.  92. 

2.  C.  W.  Ferber,  Beitraege  zur  Kentniss  der  Gewerbl  u,  Kommerz,  Zustandes 
der  preuss,  Monarchie.    Berlin,  1829,  p.  174. 

3.  Found  also  in  grain  alcohol,  but  in  smaller  quantities.  (Amyloxyd- 
hydratCi^H  >>0  +  HO.) 

4.  Meitzen,  pre.  cit.,  vol.  ii,  p.  393. 


12 

distillation,  the  growth  in  trade  through  this  branch  of  manu- 
facture, or  whether  one  considers  the  endless  advantages  to 
agriculture  and  cattle  raising  which  come  from  distilling,  and 
the  high  intelligence  with  which  this  branch  of  Prussian  busi- 
ness activity  is  conducted,  everywhere  the  Prussian  patriot 
has  only  reasons  for  great  satisfaction  and  for  certainty  of  the 
great  national  benefits  derived  from  the  excellently  conducted 
distilleries,  which  are  as  well  an  important  source  of  revenue 
for  the  public  treasury."^ 

From  1831  to  the  present  time  statistical  material  is  avail- 
able from  which  w^e  can  gain  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the  condi- 
tions prevailing  in  the  distilling  industry  in  Northern  Ger- 
many. In  thfe  year  mentioned  there  were  in  the  eight  old 
provinces  of  Prussia  22,969  distilleries,  of  which  13,806  were 
in  operation  during  the  year.  9,399  or  68  per  cent,  of  these 
were  agricultural,  the  remainder  industriah  The  largest 
number,  6,535,  were  found  in  the  Ehine  pro\dnce,  the  district 
of  the  fruit  stills,  while  the  largest  number  operated,  4,811, 
were  in  Silesia,  where  potato  culture  had  become  very  com- 
mon. The  smallest  numloers  were  found  in  Posen,  382,  and 
Saxony.  1,019.  By  1887  the  entire  number  of  distilleries  in 
the  eight  old  provinces  had  diminished  to  7,064;  5,808  being 
in  operation,  of  which  1,000  and  4,796  were  in  the  city  and 
the  country  respectively,  or  82  per  cent,  were  agricultural. 
These  facts  indicate  the  concentration  of  production  in  large 
industrial  establishments,  and  also  the  tendency  of  the  distill- 
ers to  withdraw  to  the  country,  where  their  plants  are  more 
profitable.  In  Posen,  for  instance,  the  city  distilleries  dimin- 
ished in  number  during  this  period  from  235  to  6,  while  those 
in  the  country  increased  from  338  to  444.  The  tendency  to 
retire  from  the  cities  was  much  stronger  among  the  po^to 
than  among  the  grain  distilleries,  the  number  of  the  latter 
having  decreased  from  2,280  to  756,  or  two-thirds,  while  the 
former  decreased  from  2,002  to  194,  or  nearly  90  per  cent., 
between  1831  and  1865.^     This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that 

1.  C.  W.  Ferber.  pre.  cit.,  p.  169. 

2.  From  .Jahrb.  fuer  amtliche  Statistik  des  preuss.  Staates  iv.  Jhg.  1876,  p. 
310,  Monatshefte  zur  Statistik  des  deut.  Reiches  1880  and  1886,  and  Meitzen  pre 
cit.,  vol  ii,  statistical  part. 


]i3 

raw  grain  spirits  is  much  purer  than  that  made  from  potatoes, 
and  the  direct  retail  of  grain  alcohol  for  drinking  purposes  is 
often  carried  on  by  distillers,  the  profits  of  which  enable  many 
small  grain  distillers  to  maintain  an  existence,  while  raw 
potato  spirits  is  unfit  for  consumption  without  refining.  So, 
with  increased  competition  and  higher  taxes,  the  small  potato 
distillers  were  forced  to  the  ground,  and  only  the  larger  ones 
have  been  able  to  maintain  themselves. 

The  amount  of  potatoes  used  in  the  entire  monarchy  in- 
creased very  greatly,  being  four  times  as  much  in  1887  as  in 
1831,  or  6,607,582  and  24,530,451  double  centners  respect- 
ively. During  the  same  period  the  increase  in  the  quantity 
of  grain  was  very  much  less,  or  from  2,170,522  to  3,108,701 
d.  c.i 

From  the  character  of  the  tax  on  alcohol,  the  statistics  of 
the  amount  of  spirits  produced  in  Prussia  during  the  period 
under  consideration  must  remain  mere  estimates,  and  are  at 
best  very  uncertain,  as  they  depend  upon  the  quantity  taken 
as  the  average  amount  of  spirits  produced  from  a  certain  vol- 
ume of  mash.  This,  we  know,  varied  greatly  with  the  thick- 
ness of  the  mash,  and  the  distilling  apparatus,  and  was  alway-* 
uncertain.  Dieterici-  estimated  the  products  in  the  eight  old 
Prussian  provinces  at  171  mil.  liters  of  50  per  cent,  spirits 
for  1831,  and  at  224.5  mil.  liters  for  1839.  In  1842,  a  low, 
careful  estimate  was  228  mil.  liters,  or  a  decrease  from  former 
years  as  a  result  of  the  potato  rot.  Then,  too,  the  powerful 
temperance  movement  of  the  period  had  reacted  on  produc- 
tion, so  we  find  the  estimates  decreasing,  that  for  1845  being 
201  mil.  liters.  In  1838,  the  tax  was  raised  from  62  to  72 
marks  for  100  hectoliters,  and  the  assumed  yield  of  alcohol 
from  a  quart  of  mash  raised  from  2  to  2.5  per  cent.,  which  for 
a  short  time  lowered  the  product.  In  1847,  distilling  was 
partially  forbidden  to  lower  the  price  of  potatoes.  Unfavor- 
able crops  and  high  prices  for  materials  continued  to  lessen 
the   amount   of   alcohol   produced,   though   favored   by   im- 

1.  From  Jahrb.  f uer  Amtliche  Statistik.  etc.,  1876  and  Monatshefte,  1887. 

2.  C.  F.  W.  Dieterici,  Statist.  Uebersicht  der  Wichtigsten  Gegenstaende  des 
Verkehrs  u.  Verbrauches  im.  preuss.    Staat  1839,  p.  223;  1842,  p.  332;  1845,  p.  365. 


14 

proved  facilities,  the  tax  was  becoming  smaller  year  by  year^ 
as  the  State's  revenue  indicates:  7,024  million  thalers  in 
1839,  and  5,494  in  1854.^  An  attempt  to  remedy  this  condi- 
tion was  made  in  1854  by  raising  the  per  cent,  from  3.3  to  5 
and  the  tax  from  72  to  131  marks.  The  heavier  tax  had  the 
immediate  effect  of  increasing  the  revenue,  but  it  also  dimin- 
ished the  production.  Large  numbers  of  the  smaller  <stills 
particularly  w^re  forced  to  cease  operations,  the  number  in 
Tax-Union  active  in  1854  being  7493,  and  in  1856,  673o.^ 
Many  of  these  had  existed  for  years  on  the  difference  between 
the  real  and  the  nominal  tax.  The  limit  of  thick  mashing, 
etc.,  had  been  reached  for  them,  and  there  was  nothing  left 
but  to  close,  or  to  increase  in  size  and  so  lower  costs.  Conse- 
quently, along  with  the  disappearance  of  many,  we  also  find 
the  establishment  of  numerous  large,  well  equipped  plants  and 
an  increase  in  production.  From  1872  to  1880-81  there  are 
estimates  of  the  product  in  the  official  year  books.  The  gross 
receipts  from  the  tax  are  taken  as  a  basis,  and  26  marks  20 
pfennigs  as  equivalent  to  a  hectoliter  of  pure  alcohol.  This 
method,  which  can  only  be  approximately  correct  and  proba- 
bly gives  much  less  than  the  real  amount,  shows  a  production 
of  149  mil.  liters  of  pure  spirits  for  1872,  with  a  constant  in- 
crease for  the  years  following.  For  the  years  after  1880  the 
estimates  are  our  own:  1874,  178  mil.  liters;  1876,  173; 
1878,  181;  1880-81,  192;  1882-83,  200;  1884-85,  211;  1886- 
87,  201. 

3.  Other  ^orth  German  States. 
(a.)  Introduction. 
In  describing  the  alcohol  industry  of  the  other  Xorth  Ger- 
man States  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  detail,  as  the  condi- 
tions prevailing  were,  for  the  most  part,  very  similar  to  those 
in  the  adjacent  Prussian  provinces.  Of  these  independent 
States  all  save  Saxony,  Thuringia,  Mecklenburg  and  Olden- 
burg have  been  absorbed  by  Prussia,  though  during  a  consid- 
erable part  of  the  century  they  retained  their  independence 
and  continued  their  separate  tariff  and  revenue  systems,  much 

1.  Von  Heckel  in  Conrad's  Handwoerterbuch,  2d  ed.,  vol.  ii,  p.  1063, 

2.  Zeitschrift  des  preusg.  Statist.  Bureaus.  1869,  p.  117. 


15 

to  the  injury  of  the  best  interests  of  Germany.  The  organi- 
zation of  the  Customs-Union  gave  Prussia  an  opportunity  to 
extend  her  system  of  taxation  into  some  of  the  neighboring 
States.  On  March  30,  1833,  an  agreement  was  made  with 
Saxony,  and  on  May  10th  with  the  Thuringian  States,  which 
resulted  in  a  uniform  system  of  taxation  of  alcohol.  •  Up  to 
186G  the  Alcohol-Tax-Union  (Brennsteuerverein)  consisted 
of  these  three  States  alone:  Prussia,  Saxony  and  Thuringia. 
On  January  1,  1866,  Brunswick  joined.  In  1867,  Oldenburg 
took  the  same  step,  and  Wiesbaden,  Cassel,  Hanover  and 
Schleswig-Holstein  were  incorporated  through  annexation  to 
Prussia.  In  1868,  the  former  Electorate  of  Hesse,  the  grand 
duchies  of  Mecklenburg- Schwerin  and-Strelitz,  the  duchy  of 
Launeburg,  Lubeck,  and  parts  of  Hamburg,  joined.  In  1869, 
the  grand  duchy  of  Hesse ;  in  1872,  the  HohenzoUern  Lands, 
and  in  1874,  Alsace-Lorraine  completed  the  Union.  Witli  the 
formation  of  the  North-German  Bund,  and  later  of  the  Em- 
pire, the  product  of  the  tax  was  made  common,  and  only 
Bavaria,  Baden  and  Wurtem1x;rg  retained  independent  sys- 
tems of  taxation.  In  1887,  they  also  joined  the  Union  and 
the  taxation  of  spirits  became  imperial  in  character. 

(b.)    Saxony,    Thuringia    and    the    Remaining 
States. 

Taking  Prussia  as  typical  of  North  Germany,  a  very  brief 
mention  of  the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  other  States  will 
suffice.  The  kingdom  of  Saxony,  as  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant, will  be  considered  first. 

Though  a  considerable  portion  of  Saxony  is  mountainous 
and  ill-suited  to  agriculture,  still  the  northern  and  eastern 
parts,  near  Leipsic,  are  very  fertile  and  highly  cultivated. 
Here  the  grain  and  the  potatoes  are  produced  that  maintain 
numerous  country  stills,  together  with  some  very  large  estab- 
lishments in  Dresden,  Leipsic  and  other  cities. 

Up  to  1833,  through  the  influence  of  the  old  excise  system, 
distilling  remained  in  a  very  primitive,  undeveloped  condi- 
tion, as  compared  with  Prussia,  but  the  introduction  of  the 
new  tax  on  December  4,  1833,  had  a  most  beneficial  effect, 
and  in  a  short  time  in  the  place  of  the  ill-equipped  distilleries 


16 

a  number  of  modern  establishments  were  erected.^  In  1833, 
there  were -1:,657  so-called  stills;  in  1836,  4,407,  but  only 
1,G84  operated.^  This  decrease  in  numbers  brought  with  it 
no  injury  but  rather  advantage  to  the  industry  in  the  more 
economic  use  of  the  materials  distilled.  Those  operated  were 
quite  largely  agricultural,  677  of  the  1,684,  and  77  per  cent, 
of  all  the  materials  used  were  potatoes.  The  number  of 
plants  diminished  strikingly  between  1836  and  1886-87,  from 
4,407  to  663,  but  to  a  greater  extent  in  the  cities  than  in  the 
country,  the  per  cents,  being  87  and  51  respectively. 

Thuringia  is  rough  and  mountainous  in  all  parts  and 
though  there  are  many  fertile  valleys,  agriculture  is  carried  on 
in  a  small  way  only,  very  few  large  farms  being  found.  Con- 
sequently, distilling,  agricultural  or  industrial,  never  became 
of  great  importance  and  has  been  in  a  condition  of  decline 
since  the  development  in  the  other  German  States  has  in- 
creased competition.  In  1840  there  were  operated  69  city  and 
356  country  stills;  in  1886-87,  6  and  51  respectively. 

In  the  other  States  added  to  the  alcohol-tax  district  grain 
distilling  is  of  great  importance  and  was  early  developed, 
Western  Germany,  particularly  Hanover,  Schlewig-Holstein 
and  Hesse-XasSau,  being  well  suited  to  the  raising  of  grain. 
Potato  culture  is  carried  on  extensively,  however,  and  consid- 
erable quantities  of  potato  alcohol  are  distilled  in  country 
stills  in  Mecklenburg,  Schleswig-Holstein  and  Hesse.  Meck- 
lenburg' bordering  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  with  very  sandy  soil 
naturally  went  over  to  the  extensive  culture  of  the  potato.  In 
Brunswick  the  conditions  are  very  similar  to  those  in  the 
adjacent  province  of  Saxony,  and  potatoes  as  well  as  sugar 
beets  were  early  introduced,  resulting  in  numerous  molasses 
and  potato  stills.  Hesse,  Hesse-Nassau  and  Alsace-Lorraine 
on  the  Ehine,  the  center  of  German  wine  culture,  contain 
numerous  small  fruit  and  brandy  stills. 

In  1872  ^he  active  distilleries  classified  as  grain,  potato  and 
fruit  numbered  as   follows:^     Schleswig-Holstein,     70,    21; 

1  E.  Engel  "Die  Brauntweinbrennerei  in  ihrer  Beziehung  zur  Landwin- 
schaft,  etc.,"  p.  430. 

2.    Zeitschrift  des  koenigl.  Sachs.  Statist.  Bureaus. 

3  From  Statistik  des  deut.  Reiches,  1874,  vol.  i,  p.  75.  Amounts  for  Alsace- 
Lorraine  for  '73. 


17 

Hanover,  407,  43,  3;  Hesse-Xassau,  203,  189,  87;  Hesse,  1, 
215,  198;  Mecklenburg,  26,  37;  Brunswick,  19,  35,  2;  Olden- 
burg, 42,  1 ;  Alsace-Lorraine,  13,  109,  12,542. 
b.  South  German  States. 
1.  Bavaria. 

We  will  next  consider  the  history  and  the  development  of 
the  industry  in  South  Germany,  taking  Bavaria  as  the  type 
for  this  section  of  the  Empire  and  mentioning  very  briefly  the 
other  States. 

On  account  of  the  continual  prohibition  of  the  use  of  grain 
for  distilling  purposes,  the  production  of  spirits  remained  for 
centuries  almost  entirely  limited  to  that  from  fruit,  wine  and 
brewery  residues.^  In  fact  distilling  was  very  little  more 
than  a  branch  of  brewing.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
quantity  produced  could  not  become  very  large  and  was  chiefly 
used  for  medicinal  purposes'.-  These  conditions  remained 
very  little  altered  until  the  grain  famine  of  1816-18  caused 
the  extensive  introduction  of  the  potato  into  Bavarian  agricul- 
ture and  furnished  a  new  material  for  the  stills.  The  situa- 
tion was  largely  the  same  in  the  territories  annexed  to  old 
Bavaria  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  to  form  the  modern 
kingdom,  except  that  distilling  from  grain  was  quite  import- 
ant in  some  of  the  new  districts.^ 

The  system  of  taxing  spirits  reflects  the  conditions  prevail- 
ing in  production.  Up  to  1806  a  tax  on  the  finished  product 
was  levied,  but  it  was  abolished  and  from  1806  to  1880  brew- 
ing and  distilling  were  taxed  in  a  similar  manner,  i.  e.,  on  the 
amount  of  malt  used,  the  so-called  "Malzaufschlag."^  The* 
very  fact  that  the  levy  upon  beer  and  spirits  was  according 
to  the  same  system  indicates  the  close  connection  between  the 
two.  Bavaria  was  the  great  "Bierland'^  of  Germany  and  the 
tax  on  beer  was  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  revenue,  while  that 
on  spirits  was  of  little  importance,  producing  only  about 
20,000  florins  annually,  of  Which  the  half  was  from  so-called 

1.  Wolf,  ••  Branntweinsteuer  ;  p.  83. 

2.  Production  at  beginning  of  century  only  about  12,800  hec— E.  Meyer,  V.  j. 
s.  fuer  Volkswirtschaft,  1883 ;  part  3,  p.  147. 

8.    Ibid.,  147. 
4.    Ibid.;  p.  147. 


IS 

beer  spirits,  or  that  made  from  brewers'  grains.  The  new  law 
was  drafted  with  reference  to  the  best  interests  of  the  brewing 
industry  and  the  government,  wliile  the  tax  on  alcohol  was  in- 
cluded as  a  sort  of  side  issue.  Of  course  the  law  rested  only 
on  the  spirits  produced  from  malt.  In  1808  (January  26), 
the  taxes  existing  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom  on  fruit, 
wine  and  potato  spirits  were  abolished  and  a  uniform  still  tax 
introduced  for  them.  Under  the  two  laws  the  taxation  was 
very  unequal.  Alcohol  made  from  brewers'  grains  was  really 
free,  as  the  malt  had  already  been  taxed,  while  that  from 
fruit,  wine,  etc.,  paid  a  relatively  high  amount.  These  condi- 
tions caused  numerous  complaints,  particularly  from  the 
farmers,  and  on  February  11,  1811,  the  still  tax  was  abol- 
ished.^ This  made  the  tax  on  liquors  exceedingly  low  in 
Bavaria,  as  only  the  small  amount  of  malt  used  to  develop 
the  mash  was  assessed  at  all.  As  a  consequence  we  find  the 
industry  developing  very  rapidly,  particularly  among  the 
farmers  using  potatoes. 

Bavaria  is  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  Germany  and  in  the 
fertile  river  valleys  and  on  the  warm  southern  hills  the  crops 
are  raised  that  built  up  long  ago  the  sturdy  prosperous  peas- 
antry for  which  the  country  is  known.  These  men  were  nor 
slow  to  discover  the  advantages  of  the  potato,  and  soon  the 
fields  that  produced  the  celebrated  Bavarian  brewing  barley 
were  frequently  planted  to  the  tuber,  particularly  after  the 
crop  failures  of  1816-17,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  gave  increased 
impetus  to  its  cultivation.  The  necessity  of  utilizing  the 
crop  and  the  favorable  condition  of  taxation  rapidly  increased 
the  agricultural  stills,  and  soon  placed  Bavaria  in  a  position 
to  export  considerable  quantities  of  liquor. 

These  favorable  conditions  of  production  and  of  export  con- 
tinued even  after  the  union  with  the  Zoll-Verein,  until  in 
1841,  the  system  of  "Uebergaugsversteurung"  was  adopted 
viz.,  imported  goods  were  assessed  on  the  boundry  the  amount 
of  the  domestic  tax,  while  the  tax  paid  was  refunded  on  goods 
exported.^     Bavaria  levied  a  boundry  tax  on  imported  spirits, 

1.  Wolf,  Branntweinsteuer,  pp.  84-85.  and  E,  Meyer,  pre.  cit.,  p.  150. 

2.  Wolf,  pre.  cit.,  p.  86. 


19    . 

but  there  could  be  no  payment  of  drawbacks  on  exports,  as  it 
was  impossible  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  malt  used  in  the 
production  of  the  liquor.  As  a  consequence  Bavaria  was 
forced  to  give  up  her  export,  the  industry  suffered  much  un- 
der foreign  competition  and  imports  soon  became  very  large. 
For  tlie  years  1848  to  1852  the  yearly  excess  of  imports  over 
exports  averaged  3,322  hectoliters.  For  the  years  1874  to  '78 
the  excess  had  increased  to  139,426  hectoliters.^ 

In  Bavaria,  Eight  of  the  Rhine,  there  were  in  1859,  5,524 
establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  spirits,  producing 
68,274  hectoliters  of  pure  alcohol.-  The  statistics  do  not  sep- 
arate the  agricultural  from  other  distilleries,  but  joins  those 
carried  on  in  connection  v/ith  farming  and  brewing.  How- 
ever, we  can  see  that  tlie  agricultural  stills  must  have  been 
numerous,  as  the  entire  number  of  breweries  in  1865  was  only 
5,171,  while  the  distilleries  numbered  5,477.^  Many  of 
them,  how^ever,  were  very  small  and  run  in  connection  with 
wine  presses  for  a  few  days  only.  The  number  operated  in- 
creases greatly  in  good  wine  years,  as  in  1879  when  there  were 
11,423  or  double  the  average  number,  while  the  yield  93,245 
hec.  was  very  little  larger  than  that  of  the  preceding  years. 
Materials  were  not  distinguished  before  1880. 

In  Bavaria,  Left  of  the  Rhine,  no  tax  was  levied  on  spirits. 
The  distilleries,  which  numbered  1,450  in  1860,  were  mostly 
small  fruit  stills,  the  Palatinate  being  a  famous -wine  country. 

On  February  25,  1880,  the  antiquated  system  of  taxation 
was  finally  abandoned  and  a  new  law  based  on  that  in  use  in 
the  North  German  Association  adopted.  The  industry  was 
taxed  independently  of  brewing  and  the  different  needs  of  the 
different  classes  of  distillers  considered,  as  well  as  the  most 
productive  and  just  method  of  levying  the  tax.  The  standard 
rate  was  the  same  as  in  North  Germany,  1.31  marks  a  hectoliter 
of  capacity  of  the  mash-tub.  The  small  agricultural  stills 
wore  also  favored  by  a  lower  assessment,  five-sixths  the  nor- 


1.  Meyer,  '-Die    Internationale  Spiritus  Production,"  in  Vierteljahrschrift 
fuer  Volkswirtschaft,  1883;  pp.  152-153. 

2.  From  Zeitschrift  des  KoeniRl.  Bay.,  Statist.  Bureaus,  1860-72. 

3.  E.  Struve,  "  Bayerisches  Brau-Gewerbe."    Leipsic.  1893;  p.  95. 


.    20 

mal  rate.     The  influence  of  the  new  law  upon  the  industry 
was  good. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  determine  the  number  and  the 
importance  of  the  country  stills,  as  the  law  necessitated  their 
segregation.  The  vast  majority  were  found  in  the  country, 
e5,990  out  of  6,492  in  1885.  Of  these  the  greater  number^ 
were  small,  producing  not  more  than  5  hectoliters  of  50  per 
cent,  alcohol  yearly,  and  using  chiefly  fruit  and  wine.  How- 
ever, 1,256  used  potatoes  during  this  year,*  and  the  annual 
consumption  of  the  tuber  was  from  1  to  1.5  million  hectoliters, 
being  1,141,411  in  1885.  A  considerable  market  for  grain 
was  also  furnished  by  the  stills,  734  using  313,750  hectoliters 
in  the  same  year,  as  well  as  126,754  hectoliters  of  brewers' 
grains.  The  product  varied  from  222,034  hi.  in  1881  to 
261,002  in  1885. 

In  1887,   Bavaria,   with   the    other  South  German  States, 
came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  imperial  tax  on  spirits. 
2.  Wurtemburg. 

Distilling  in  Wurtemburg  is  almost  exclusively  carried  on 
in  the  simplest  way  possible  and  has  never  become  of  great 
industrial  importance.  The  country  has  a  very  dense  popu- 
lation and  the  agricultural  lands  are  divided  into  exceedingly 
small  parcels,  cultivated  chiefly  by  their  peasant  proprietors. 
According  to  the  census  of  1895,  there  were  306,643  farms  in 
the  kingdom  and  142,910  persons  owned  land  amounting  tj 
1,378,263  hectares  of  the  entire  surface  of  1,498,949  hectares, 
a  hectare  being  2.5  acres.  Stills  are  operated  by  these  small 
farmers  for  a  short  season  onl}^,  chiefly  to  gain  a  little  fodder 
for  the  cattle  or  to  utilize  waste.  The  country  is  famous  for 
its  numerous  vineyards,  and  the  owners  distill  brandy  from 
the  residues  of  the  presses,  while  in  the  Black-Forest  the  poor 
inhabitants  distill  the  heidelberries  which  abound.  Most  of 
this  distilling  lasts  but  a  few  days  or  weeks,  and  the  product 
is  either  consumed  at  home  qr  sold  to  gain  a  little  ready 
money.  These  conditions  have  apparently  prevailed  since 
distilling  was  introduced.  Little  room  was  given  for  tho 
growth  of  a  real  industry  and  one  has  never  developed. 

1.    4,502  in  1887. 


O.-THc 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 
^L/FORNJ^ 
21 

The  statistics  of  production  during  the  early  part  of  the 
century  are  scanty  and  until  1885  unsatisfactor}-,  because  of 
the  numerous  changes  and  curious  methods  of  taxation,  seven 
different  laws  having  been  in  operation  between  1807  and 
1885.  The  changes  were  chiefly  brought  about  by  the  diffi- 
culty in  finding  any  system  of  taxation  not  injurious  to  the 
small  agricultural  stills  that  would  be  productive  of  revenue. 
Before  1843  no  statistics  of  the  number  of  distilleries  exist. 
In  1842  there  were  9,139  stills;  in  1850,  9,799,  and  the  esti- 
mated product  38,986  hectoliters.^  From  1859  to  1864  the 
average  number  operated  was  10,733  and  product  47,983  hec- 
toliters.- From  1865  to  1885  a  system  of  malt  taxation,  pat- 
terned after  the  Bavarian,  was  used  and  no  statistics  were  col- 
lected. In  1885  the  taxation  was  harmonized  with  that  of 
i^orth  Germany,  and  in  1887  independent  taxation  was  given 
lip.  In  1886-87,  7,885  stills  were  operated  of  which  1,560 
used  potatoes,  2,282  grain,  1  molasses,  7  beets,  3,163  fruit, 
848  brewers'  grains,  and  44  other  materials;  7,067  of  them 
produced  only  up  to  5  hectoliters  of  alcohol  and  55  exceeded 
50  hectoliters.^^ 

3.  Baden. 

Situated  along  the  upper  Ehine  and  containing  a  portion  of 
the  Ehine  valley,  Baden  is  a  very  fertile  agricultural  country 
and  contains,  besides  very  numerous  small  farms,  great  num- 
bers of  vineyards.  It  is  the  land  of  small  distilleries,  largely 
in  the  hands  of  the  wine-growers.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
century  there  were  about  20,000  of  them  in  operation  during 
the  wine  season,  but  real  industrial  distilling  scarcely  existed. 
These  conditions  continued  until  after  1837,  when  distilling 
began  to  develop  in  the  grand-duchy  and  little  by  little  larger 
plants  with  improved  apparatus  were  established.  This 
growth  was  largely  due  to  the  introduction  of  a  tax  according 
to  the  still  capacity.*  As  in  Prussia,  this  brought  improved 
methods  to  enable  escape  from  taxation,  and  so  steady  develop- 
ment.    The  system  of   taxation   remained    unchanged   until 

1.  Wuertemberg  Jahrbuch,  1851 ;  p.  202. 

2.  Ibid,  1865  ;  p.  82. 

3.  MonatBhefte  zur  Statistik,  Etc.,  for  1887. 

4.  Wolf,  Branntweinsteuer,  p.  112. 


23 

Baden  passed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  imperial  law  in 
1887,  but  the  rate  was  several  times  increased  after  1837. 
The  number  of  distilleries  at  different  times  numbered  as  fol- 
lows:  1829,  20,000;  1849,  22,111;  1862,  22,882;  1870, 
26,505;  1876,  26,596;  1880,  28,498;  1886,  28,260.^  These 
numbers  do  not  indicate  those  in  operation,  which  were  prob- 
ably a  great  many  less.  The  product  is  also  very  uncertain. 
The  official  estimates  for  several  years  were  as  follows :  1872, 
11,805  hectoliters;  1874,  10,065;  1876,  63,526;  1878,  37,040. 
Wolf  estimated  the  amounts  as  follows :  1874,  35,000  hi. ; 
1875,  80,000;  1876,  83,000;  1877,  55,025.  The  great  varia- 
tions were  caused  by  the  fruit  and  Avine  crops.  The  product 
did  not  cover  the  demand  and  great  amounts  were  imported, 
usually  double  the  estimated  production. 

III.     The  Present  Industry, 
a.  Introduction. 

We  have  now  brought  our  description  of  distilling  in  the 
different  parts  of  Germany  down  to  1887,  in  which  year  the 
imperial  tax  system  Avas  extended  over  all  the  States.  From 
this  time  on  we  are  able  to  consider  the  industry  as  a  whole 
with  similar  taxation  and  similar  statistical  data,  and  from 
1887  we  may  date  the  present  industry.  In  the  following 
pages  w^e  will  attempt  to  describe  some  features  of  distilling 
as  it  was  in  1899,  bringing  out  the  changes  that  have  taken 
place  within  recent  years  and  also  the  tendencies  of  the  indus- 
try, wherever  this  seems  feasible. 
h.  Number  of  Distilleries. 

On  the  30th  of  September,  1899,  tliere  were  in  all  parts  of 
the  Empire  88,582  distilleries  of  various  kinds,  and  during 
the  fiscal  year  60,926  of  them  were  in  operation  for  a  part  or 
the  whole  of  the  time.  The  number  has  diminished  slightly 
since  1887,  when  it  was  90,899.  The  number  operated  shows 
great  variations,  largely  occasioned  by  the  fruit  crops  upon 
which  so  many  of  the  small  stills  depend.  In  1887  it  was 
48,415,  while  in  the  next  year  it  rose  to  65,652,  only  to  sink 

1.    statist  Jahrb.  fuer  das  Ght.  Baden  and  Monatshefte  zur  Statistik,  Etc. 


23 

to  40,180  in  1889.     In  1893  it  was  up  to  71,513  and  since 
that  year  has  not  heen  below  60,000.^ 
c.  Distribution. 

The  distribution  of  the  distilleries  in  1899  was  as  follows: 
79,835  or  90  per  cent,  were  in  the  four  South  German' States, 
Bavaria,  Wurtemburg,  Baden  and  Alsace-Lorraine;  and 
53,667  or  88  per  cent,  of  those  operated  were  found  in  them. 
Of  the  individual  States,  Alsace-Lorraine  contained  31,463, 
35.5  per  cent,  of  the  entire  number;  Baden  26,181,  29.5  per 
cent.;  Wurtemlx?rg  12,166,  13.7  per  cent.;  Bavaria  10,025, 
13.3  per  cent;  Prussia  7,407,  8.3  per  cent.,  and  all  the  remain- 
ing States  1.7  per  cent.- 

When,  however,  we  consider  distilling  as  an  independent 
industry,  and  exclude  those  stills  run  only  a  few  days  or  weeks 
the  States  rank  differently.  On  June  14,  1895,  there  were  in 
operation  10,950  stills  of  which  8,657  were  run  as  an  inde- 
pendent business  and  2,293  as  a  subordinate  business.  Ac- 
cording to  this  classification — entire  number  operated,  num- 
ber distilling  as  chief  business,  number  as  subordinate  busi- 
ness— the  data  for  the  chief  States  was  as  follows:  Prussia, 
7,476,  6,316,  1,160;  Bavaria,  780,  614,  166 ;  Saxony,  879, 
776,  103;  Baden,  311,  135,  176;  Wurtemberg,  534,  108,  426; 
Hesse,  238,  179,  59;  Alsace-Lorraine,  212,  78,  134;  Ham- 
burg, 82,  76,  6.^  According  to  this,  Prussia  contained  68  per 
cent,  of  all  the  industrial  stills.  Saxony  followed  with  8  per 
cent,  and  Bavaria  with  7  per  cent.  These  percentages  show 
that  the  real  center  of  the  distilling  industry  is  in  Xorth  Ger- 
many and  Prussia,  and  not  in  the  South.  Of  course  it  must 
l>e  remembered  that  June  finds  many  stills,  particularly  the 
agricultural,  not  in  operation. 

As  to  the  location  of  the  distilleries,  whether  in  the  cities  or 
in  the  country,  the  present  imperial  statistics  give  no  infor- 
mation. However,  from  the  classification  "industrial"  and 
''^agriculturar'  we  can  gain  an  approximate  idea  of  their  loca- 

1.  From  Vierteljahrshefte  zur  Statistik  des  deut.  Reiches,  for  different 
years,  art.  "Branntwein." 

i.    From  V.  j.  h.  zur  Statistik,  etc.,  vol.  9, 1900,  pi.  2,  p.  137. 

3.    From  "Gewerbestatistik  der  Bundesstaaten,"  Neue  Folge,  vol.  114. 


24 

tion.  Ill  1891)  there  were  1,226  classified  as  "industrial"  and 
59,600  as  "industriaF^  and  "material,"  viz.,  those  using  fruit, 
wine,  pomace,  hrewers'  grains,  etc.  These  two  sums  may  be 
taken  as  fairly  representing  the  numbers  in  the  city  and  in  the 
country. 

In  1895^  there  were  1,167  distilleries  in  the  twenty-eight 
cities  of  over  100,000  population.  Berlin  is  the  center  of  the 
trade  in  spirits  and  has  213  stills.  Breslau  is  also  verv  im- 
portant as  a  distillery  city.  Cologne,  Hamburg,  Stettin, 
Bremen  and  Danzig  are  the  seats  of  many  distilleries  with  a 
flourishing  export  trade.  In  the  South,  Munich  and  Xuer- 
emberg  are  most  important. 
d.  Character. 

Distilling  in  Germany  has  not  developed  to  such  an  extent 
as  brewing  into  a  great,  independent  industry,  but  has  re- 
mained more  nearly  than  the  latter  closely  connected  with  and 
largely  carried  on  as  an  auxilliary  activity  of  agriculture. 

Two  kinds  of  beer  are  brewed,  the  top-fermented  or  "Weiss' 
beer,  in  which  the  yeast  works  from  above  downward,  and  the 
bottom-fermented  or  "lager"  beer  in  which  the  contrary  is 
true.  The  brewing  of  top-fermented  beer  is  a  comparatively 
simple  process,  and  formerly  it  was  common,  particularly  in 
Northern  Germany,  for  farmers  to  own  small  breweries  in 
which  they  used  considerable  quantities  of  self -raised  barle;)* 
and  hops,  selling  the  product  to  inn-keepers  or  owning  inns 
in  which  the  beer  was  retailed,  while  the  brewers'  grains  were 
fed  on  the  place.  But  the  introduction  of  beer  of  the  Bavar- 
ian or  lager  type  since  1835,  and  the  change  in  the  taste  of  the 
people,  w^hich  now  demands  the  improved  beverage,  has  almost 
entirely  driven  brewing  from  the  country.  The  manufactura 
of  lager  beer  is  a  complex  process,  demanding  an  extensive 
outlay  of  capital  for  the  plant,  and  technical  skill  of  a  higli 
order  for  the  production  of  beer  that  is  able  to  compete  with 
that  brewed  by  the  great  city  plants.  So  brewing  has  almost 
ceased   to  be   a   side  activity  of  agriculture,  and  remains  im- 

1.    Vol.  116  Stat,  des  Deut.  Reiches,  "Gewcrbe  Statistik  der  Grossen  Staedte.' 


25 

portant  only  as  furnishing  a  verv  extensive  market  ior  the 
products  of  the  soil. 

Distilling,  on  the  other  hand,  answers  all  the  requirements 
of  an  excellent  business  to  Ix;  carried  on  in  connection  with 
agriculture.  A  large  investment  of  capital  is  not  necessary, 
as  a  small,  simple  still  can  produce  as  good  raw  alcohol  as  the 
larger,  better  equipped  establishments,  though  the  latter  ex- 
tract a  higher  per  cent,  of  spirits  from  the  same  quantity  of 
mash  and  at  a  less  cost.  Then  it  is  claimed  that  they  make 
possible  the  utilization  of  materials  whose  transportation  to 
the  markets  would  not  pay  on  account  of  low  prices,  i.  e., 
potatoes,  etc.  The  by-products  of  the  still  (schlempe)  enable 
the  farmers  to  keep  more  cattle  than  otherwise,  through  which 
there  is  an  increased  production  of  meat  and  manure,  the 
latter  making  possible  a  more  rational  agriculture. 

It  is  true  that  transportation  is  not  as  difficult  a  problem  as 
formerlv,  but  it  is  still  of  importance,  particularly  in  the 
eastern  provinces  of  Prussia,  where  the  roads  are  very  poor. 
In  Germany  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  the  farmer  has  to 
meet  is  the  supply  of  food  for  the  cattle.  With  intensive 
Agriculture,  made  necessary  by  the  high  price  of  land  and 
•dense  population,  the  meadows  and  swamps  are  more  and 
more  brought  under  cultivation.  This  causes  a  rise  in  the 
price  of  hay  and  scarcity  of  pasture,  and  no  fodder  crop  such 
as  Indian  corn  is  grown.  Distilleries  furnish  a  very  cheap 
and  excellent  food  in  their  residues,  as  most  ,of  the  nourishing 
elements  remain  after  the  fermentation.  Consequently,  if 
the  alcohol  produced  pays  for  the  materials  used,  the  entire 
value  of  the  "schlempe"  for  feeding  is  gained.  "Schlempe'' 
has  the  quality  of  increasing  the  flow  of  milk  and  in  addition 
a  great  quantity  of  manure,  which  is  so  scarce  and  so  valuable, 
is  produced.  The  more  rational  agriculture  increases  the  fer- 
tility of  tlie  land  and  so  the  ground  rent.  In  addition  it  is 
more  easily  possible  for  the  farmers  to  employ  the  laborers 
during  the  winter  months,  which  for  the  latter  is  of  greatest 
importance  in  agricultural  districts. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  a  large  number  of  enterprising 
farmers  maintain  distilleries  in  connection  with  their  busi- 


26 

ness.     The  exact  number  of  such  j^lants  it  is  difficult  to  ascer« 
tain.     In  the  census  of  1895,  5,922  are  reported. 

Swpftf  Fnrmts  ~~      i  Agriculture  Connected  I      Per" 
^^^®  ®^  Farms.  ^       ^y  .^j^  DistilUng.       1    Cent. 


Under  2      ha 

2-5      ha 

5-20    ha 

20-100  ha 

689 

388 

1041 

1042 

.      2762 

11.65 

6.a& 

17.58 

17.60 

Over  100 

46  64 

5922 

100 

The  percentages  show  that  they  are  usually  found  on  the 
middle  and  large-sized  farms,  as  would  be  expected.  But  the 
number  is  evidently  much  too  small,  as  the  census  was  taken 
in  the  middle  of  summer  when  the  country  stills  are  not  in 
operation.  According  to  the  revenue  law  those  agricultural 
stills  in  operation  not  more  than  eight  and  one-half  months, 
between  September  16tli  and  June  loth,  are  only  taxed  from 
six  to  nine-tenths  of  the  regular  rate,  while  those  operated 
during  the  summer  pay  an  extra  tax  of  from  1  to  3  marks  a 
hectoliter.  The  lower  rate  is  granted  by  the  government  for 
the  encouragement  of  agricultural  distilling. 

The  following  data^  give  a  better  idea  of  the  real  number  of 
country  stills.  During  the  fiscal  year  ending  October  1,  1901, 
there  were  in  operation  74,840  distilleries.  Of  these  11,960 
were  classified  as  "agricultural,"  1,211  as  "industrial,"  while 
the  remainder,  61,669,  used  materials  "not  mealy"  in  char- 
acter, such  as  fruit,  pomace,  wine,  brewers'  grains,  etc.  The 
by-products  of  these  stills  cannot  be  fed  to  animals  as  a  rule, 
but  they  are  usually  connected  with  agricultural  operations. 
By  "agricultural"  distilleries  are  meant  those  in  operation 
only  during  the  period  indicated  by  the  revenue  law  in  which 
"the  owner  distills  grain  or  potatoes  raised  by  himself  ex- 
clusively, feeds  the  'schlempe'  to  animals  owned  on  the  farm, 
and  uses  the  manure  to  fertilize  the  land."  The  government 
is  very  strict  in  this  classification.  "Industrial"  distilleries 
are  those  run  as  an  independent  business,  with    the   idea    of 

1.  Vierteljahrsschrift  zur  Statistik,  etc.,  for  the  different  years,  art.  'Brannt- 
wein." 


27 

direct  profit  from  the  spirits  produced.  Those  taxed  as  agri- 
cultural were  16  per  cent,  of  the  entire  number  operated  in 
1901,  and  excluding  the  fruit  stills  90  per  cent,  of  all,  whicli 
last  per  cent,  indicates  the  great  importance  of  this  branch  of 
the  industry.  Since  1887  there  has  been  an  increase  in  their 
number  of  1,273,  but  entirely  among  those  using  grain,  while 
the  potato  stills  declined  slightly.  The  latter  numbered  6,250 
in  1887-88  and  5,796  in  1900-1,  while  the  former  were  4,431 
and  6,164  respectively.  Industrial  distilleries  have  also  been 
increasing,  chiefly  among  those  using  potatoes,  or  from  12  to 
61.  G-rain  stills  declined  slightly  froni  953  to  884.  However, 
1900-01  was  an  exceptional  year,  the  number  having  been 
over  1,000  for  the  five  preceding  seasons.  Those  establish- 
ments using  other  materials  remained  fairly  constant  in  num- 
ber. 

A  consideration  of  the  distilleries  according  to  the  amount 
and  character  of  the  alcohol  produced  is  interesting.  In 
1899^  there  were  60,926'  distilleries  operated  of  which  45,913 
or  75  >per  cent,  produced  not  more  than  one-half  a  hectoliter 
of  pure  alcohol;  10,395  more  produced  between  5  and  100 
hectoliters,  or  88.5  per  cent,  of  all  did  not  yield  over  100  hecto- 
liters, showing  how  small  the  great  majority  are.  Of  the  re- 
mainder 1,996  are  in  the  class  between  100  and  500  hecto- 
liters, 1,298  l)etween  500  and  1,000  hectoliters,  1,302  between 
1,000  and  5,000  hectoliters,  and  22  above  5,000  hectoliters. 
Of  the  smallest  class  41,014  used  fruit,  wine,  etc.  Among 
agricultural  stills  the  average  product  is  much  greater,  partic- 
ularly in  those  using  potatoes.  In  1899  there  were  13,367  of 
the  agricultural  plants;  4,776  of  thom  were  in  the  one-half 
hectoliter  class,  of  which  4,395  used  grain  and  381  potatoes. 
The  grain  stills  of  the  agricultural  type  are  mostly  small,  only 
493  exceeding  100  hectoliters.  On  the  other  hand,  3,764  of 
the  5,530  agricultural  potato  stills  exceed  100  hectoliters  and 
1,183  exceed  1,000  hectoliters  of  product.  The  existence  of 
so  many  small  grain  stills  has  been  explained  before  as  being 
possible  through  the  direct  retail  of  the  product  at  high  prices 

1.    V.  j.  8.  zur.  Statistik  etc.,  1900  ;  vol.  2,  p.  154. 


28 

while  the  potato  spirits  must  be  refined  before  it  is  fit  to  be 
drunk.  Auiong  industrial  distilleries  are  found  two  classes, 
the  very  small  ones  and  the  largest  plants  in  Germany  produc- 
ing up  to  21,000  hectoliters,  and  representing  the  highest  in- 
dustrial development  in  the  manufacture  of  alcohol.  .  The 
number  of  industrial  stills  of  all  kinds  in  1899  was  1,226,  of 
which  41  used  potatoes,  1,0(U  grain,  29  molasses  and  192 
other  materials.  35  of  the  potato  stills  produced  amounts  not 
above  100  hectoliters  and  2  alone  exceeded  1,000  hectoliters. 
317  of  those  using  grain  did  not  exceed  100  hectoliters.  Of 
the  remainder  14  exceeded  5,000  hectoliters  and  56  were  be- 
tween 1,000  and  5,000  hectoliters.  Xone  of  the  inolasses 
(rum)  distilleries  were  under  100  hectoliters,  while  7  exceeded 
5,000.  None  of  the  by-product  stills  have  large  capacities,  1 
using  brewers'  grains  reaching  2,000  hectoliters,  but  only  13 
of  the  entire  number  exceeding  100  hectoliters.  Prussia  con- 
tains most  of  the  large  distilleries  or  38  per  cent,  of  all  pro- 
ducing over  500  hectoliters. 

The  apparatus  used  in  the  majority  of  the  stills  is  of  the 
simplest  kind,  only  6.5  per  cent,  being  able  to  fmish  the  pro- 
cess of  distillation  in  one  operation  in  1899.  Prussia  is  mucl:^ 
better  equipped  than  any  other  State,  and  contains  '89  per 
cent,  of  all  the  continuous  apparatus.  Those  in  South  Ger- 
many are  mostly  very  primitive.^ 

As  might  be  inferred  from  the  size  of  the  distilleries,  the 
business  organization  is,  with  few  exceptions,  private  in  char- 
acter, and  the  number  of  corporations  and  stock  company  dis- 
tilleries is  very  small  when  compared  with  the  brewing  indus- 
try, which  had  425-  stock  companies  with  a  capital  invested 
of  over  one  billion  marks  in  1899.  In  1898  there  were  only 
25  distilleries  organized  as  stock  companies  with  a  ])ai(l  up 
capital  of  35  million  marks. 

The  idea  of  co-operation,  largely  borrowed  from  England, 
has  spread  rapidly  in  Germany  in  recent  years  and  co-opera- 
tive societies  of  various  kinds,  many  aided  by  the  government. 


1.  V.  j.  8.  zur.  Statistik,  1900 ;  vol.  2,  p.  134. 

2.  Richard  Wolf,  Jahrbuch  fuer  die  Deutschen  Actien  Brauereien,  rJOO. 


29 

have  been  organized.  These  are  chiefly  found  among  the 
poorer  middle  classes  and  particularly  among  the  farmers.^ 
There  were  in  Prussia  in  1898  8^310-  such  societies.  Of 
them  5,292  were  credit  associations  for  loaning  money  to  the 
farmers  at  lower  rates  than  the  banks;  1,570  were  "pro- 
ductive"' societies  for  co-operation  in  the  production  of  some 
commodity,  such  as  creameries,  wine  presses,  breweries,  dis- 
tilleries, bakeries,  etc.,  and.  finally  591  so-called  ^'Konsun- 
Vereine,''  or  co-operative  stores,  meat  markets,  etc.  In  ad- 
dition there  are  numerous  "A'erkaufsgenossenschaften,"  or 
co-operative  societies  among  farmers  to  secure  better  prices 
for  their  produce,  storehouses,  elevators,  etc.,  being  frequently 
built. 

The  low  price  for  raw  spirits,  and.  the  difficulty  of  maintain- 
ing an  existence  when  hampered  by  inefficient  distilling  ap- 
paratus, has  led,  within  recent  years,  to  the  formation  of  num- 
erous co-operative  societies  among  the  smaller  farmers  for  car- 
rying on  distilling  and  for  disposing  of  the  product.  The 
land-owner  had  to  use  his  fallow  crop,  the  potato,  and  needed 
the  *^schlempe"  for  fodder,  but  in  many  cases  .with  j^rimitive 
stills  distilling  could  not  be  carried  on  except  at  an  absolute 
loss.  Consequently  societies  have  been  formed,  money  has 
been  borrowed  from  the  government  at  a  low  rate,  and  this, 
together  with  what  the  members  have  contributed,  has  enabled 
them  to  establish  neighborhood  stills  with  modern  apparatus 
and  economic  production.  There  are  no  imperial  statistics  of 
the  co-operative  societies  and  the  data  is  very  scanty.  In 
1895-90  there  were  reported  to  be  39  such  distilleries.  By 
1897-98  the  number  had  risen  to  114  and  in  1898-99  it  was 
128.  The  majority  are  in  Prussia,  which  contained  54  on 
June  30,  1898.^ 
e.  Labor. 

According  to  the  statistics  of  manufacture   there   were   on 

1.  For  co«operation  in  Germany  see  "  Das  landwirtschaftliche  Gennoss  En- 
schafiwesen  in  Deutschland,"  Ertel  u.  Licht.    Vienna,  1899, 

2.  From  a  catalogue  of  Prussian  co-operative  societies  existing  June  30, 1898, 
issued  by  the  Central  Co-operative  Bank,  in  Berlin. 

3.  Vierteljahrshefte  zur  Statistik,  etc.,  1897,  ii.,  p.  117;   '98,  ii.,  p.  57;  '99, ii., 
p.  144;  1900,  ii.,  p.  114. 


30 

June  14,  1895,  35,458  jiersons  actively  eiiii3loyecl  in  distil- 
leries. This,  of  course,  represents  only  those  connected  with 
the  larger  industrial  establishments.  We  have  mentioned  be- 
fore the  great  importance  of  distilleries  to  the  country  popu- 
lation, as  giving  employment  during  the  winter  months  when 
work  is  so  difficult  to  secure.  Tlie  numbers  thus  engaged  for 
several  months  of  the  year  cannot  be  ascertained  for  they  are 
classed  in  the  census  as  laborers,  but  it  must  be  large  in  order 
to  run  the  13,000  agricultural  stills.  We  will  not  consider 
the  thousands  who  run  the  brandy  stills  for  a  few  days  or 
weeks,  as  they  are  really  fruit  gardeners  and  vine  growers. 
Tlie  wages  as  a  rule  are  very  low,  few  receiving  over  four 
marks  or  one  dollar  a  day,  which  is  taken  as  the  standard  and 
paid  by  the  trade-insurance  society  in  case  of  injury,  though 
the  majority  receive  much  less.  In  addition  to  the  poor  pay 
the  conditions  of  labor  are  not  good.  The  hours  are  very 
long,  many  distilleries  running  night  and  day  during  the  sea- 
son. The  shortest  day  is  twelve  hours  under  these  circum- 
stances, and  in  many  plants,  which  are  run  short-handed  for 
the  sake  of  ecc^omy,  the  hours  are  much  longer. 

Through  the  courtes}'  of  the  director  in  Berlin  we  were  al- 
lowed to  examine  the  books  of  the  Brennerei-Berufs-genossen- 
scliaft  (distillers'  trade  insurance  society),  and  thus  were 
enabled  to  learn  the  wages  paid  the  men  in  different  parts  of 
the  em])ire  in  1900.  The  following  facts  are  typical  of  num- 
erous other  establishments.  In  an  agricultural  distillery  in 
the  province  of  Posen  the  common  laborers  received  from  1 
to  1.50  marks  daily,  and  the  chief  distillers  alone  over  four 
marks.  In  a  stock  company  distillery  in  Brunswick  the  com- 
mon laborers  received  under  4  marks,  and  the  chief  distiller 
1,500  marks  annually.  In  Xordhausen,  the  great  distillery 
city  of  the  Hartz,  the  representative  firm  of  Friederick  Degen, 
Successor  paid  their  common  labor  all  under  4  marks,  and  only 
3  skilled  workmen  over  4  marks.  In  Gruenwincklc,  Baden,  a 
large  establishment,  the  Gesellschaft  fuer  Spiritus  and  Press- 
hefe,  paid  all  their  common  laborers,  141  in  num])er,  under 
4, marks,  bovs  1.80  marks,  and  a  few  skilled  laborers  over  i 


31 

marks.     In  Hamburg,  the  firm  of  Peters  paid  72  under  4 
marks,  8  skilled  men  over  4  marks,  and  7  boys  3  marks. 

The  wages  are  lowest  in  West  Prussia  and  Posen,  where  the 
common  distillery  laborer,  in  many  cases,  does  not  receive 
more  than  1  mark  and  from  that  to  1.30  marks,  or  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  a  day.  These  con- 
ditions exist,  though  there  is  a  great  scarcity  of  labor.  The 
men  of  the  provinces  go  in  great  numbers  to  the  West,  where 
they  work  in  the  mines  and  factories  at  much  better  wages, 
and  Poles  and  Bohemians  come  in  to  take  their  places  who  are 
satisfied  with  the  miserable  amount  paid.  The  best  wageb 
for  common  labor  are  paid  in  Saxony  and  in  the  manufactur- 
ing districts  along  the  Ehino. 
/.  Materials  Used. 
1.  Potatoes. 

Of  all  the  materials  used  in  distilling  in  Germany  potatoes 
are  the  most  important,  81.5  per  cent,  of  all  the  alcohol  pro- 
duced being  made  from  them.  In  describing  the  develop- 
ment of  the  industry  in  Prussia  in  the  early  part  of  the  cen- 
tury, we  mentioned  the  introduction  of  the  potato  as  a  root 
crop  for  the  fallows,  particularly  in  the  sandy  portions  of 
Northern  Grcrmany.  Other  fallow  crops  such  as  turnips, 
beets,  etc.,  have  been  introduced,  but  the  potato  has  always  re- 
mained the  principal  one.  In  1898,  10.8  per  cent,  of  the 
arable  land  of  the  empire  was  planted  to  potatoes;  rye  and 
oats  alone  having  a  greater  acreage.  Of  the  crop  harvested 
about  9  or  10  per  cent,  is  annually  distilled  into  alcohol.  The 
average  for  the  last  ten  years  is  9.25  per  cent.,  while  that  for 
1898  is  9.5  and  for  1899,  10.5  per  cent.  We  have  placed  to- 
gether the  acreage,  the  amount  harvested  and  the  amount  dis- 
tilled in  the  various  districts  in  1899,  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  proportion  distilled  in  different  sections  of  the  country. 
The  per  cent,  of  the  crop  distilled  in  East  Prussia  was  15.5; 
West  Prussia,  17.2;  Brandenburg,  18.3;  Pomerania.  21.5; 
Posen,  21.3;  Silesia,  14.5;  Saxony,  6.1;  Schleswig-Holstein, 
.5;  Hanover,  .4;  Westphalia,  .0;  Hesse-Nassau,  1.1 ;  Rhine 
Province,  .1;  Holhenzollern,  .1;  Kingdom  of  Prussia,  12.8; 


3:2 

Bavaria,  3.G;  Saxony,  9.9;  Wurteniberg,  .G;  Baden,  .7;  Hesse,. 
2.7;  Mecklenburg,  5.8;  Thuringia,  .8;  Brunswick,  2.8;  An- 
halt,  12.8;  Alsace-Lorraine,  .2;  Germany,  10.5. 

The  seat  of  potato  culture  is  in  the  Eastern  in-ovinces  of 
Prussia,  and  here  the  amount  distilled  is  very  large,  being 
nearly  one-fourth  of  the  quantity  availa1)le.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  overestimate  the  importance  of  the  potato  and  the 
alcohol  industry  to  the  farmers  of  these  districts. 

The  quantity  of  potatoes  made  into  alcohol  annually  varies 
greatly  with  the  crops,  but  on  tlie  whole  there  lias  been  a  de- 
crease in  the  last  twenty  years,  except  for  the  last  few  years, 
from  the  amounts  used  before  1887.  The  estimates  in  1,000' 
tons  for  a  number  of  years  follow,  a  ton  being  1,000  kilo- 
grams:^ 1887-88,  2,009;  1888-89,  1,699;  1889-90,  2,083; 
1890-91,  1,686;  1891-92,  1,335;  1892-93,  1,947;  1893-94, 
2,148;  1894-95,  1,804;  1895-96,  2,210;  1896-97,  2,116; 
1897-98,  2,261;  1898-99,  2,586. 
2.  Grain. 

Xext  in  importance  among  the  materials  used  is  grain, 
chiefly  rye,  though  within  recent  years  a  considerable  quantity 
of  Indian  corn  alcohol  has  been  produced.  Some  malted  bar- 
ley is  necessary  in  preparing  the  mash  and  small  quantities  of 
buckwheat  are  also  distilled. 

Eye  is  the  principal  breadstuff  of  German}',  relatively  little 
pure  wheat  bread  being  made.  As  such  it  stands  first  m 
acreage  among  the  agricultural  crops,  5,495,191  hectares  or 
21  per  cent,  of  all  the  land  under  cultivation  being  planted  to 
this  grain  in  1899.  The  average  crop  is  between  seven  and 
one-half  and  eight  and  one-half  million  tons.  Of  this  over  80 
per  cent,  is  grown  in  Prussia,  the  provinces  of  Posen,  Silesia» 
Brandenburg  and  Hanover  producing  the  largest  amounts. 
In  South  Germany,  Bavaria  produces  from  seven  to  eighi 
hundred  thousand  tons,  or  as  much  as  Posen. 

The  amount  distilled  is  relatively  small.  Before  1895  the 
various  kinds  of  grain  Avere  grouped  together  in  the  statistical 
tables.     The  following  data,  however,  gives  a  fairly  good  idea 

1.    From  Monatshefte,  and  V.  i.  s.  zur  St  atistik,  etc.,  for  various  years. 


•33 

of  the  rvc  used,  as  only  a  relatively  small  amount  of  barley  and 
t)ther  grains  were  distilled.  The  estimates  are  in  thousand 
tons:  1887-88,  205;  1888-89,  329;  1889-90,  332;  1890-91, 
350;  1891-92,  491 ;  1892-93,  323;  1893-94,  325;  1894-95, 
322;  1895-96,  293;  1896-97,  265;  1897-98,  270;  1898-99, 
^82.^  Taking  280,000  tons  as  the  quantity  used  by  the  dis- 
tillers in  1899,  we  find  that  it  was  4  per  cent,  of  the  amount 
remaining  in  the  country  for  consumption  after  deducting  ex- 
ports and  seed  and  adding  imports. 

The  distillation  of  Indian  corn  has  been  increasing  ver}' 
rapidly  in  recent  years.  The  amount  so  used  has  been  sep- 
arately reported  for  four  years  only,  but  in  that  time  the  quan- 
tity has  nearly  doubled.  In  1895-96  there  were  used  36,797 
tons;  1896-97,  46,871;  1897-98,  59,765-  1898-99,  59,801. 
The  corn  used  is  entirely  imported,  chiefly  from  America  and 
Russia.     Germany  is  a  growing  market  for  this  product. 

There  were  also  used  in  1899  3,621  tons   of   "other   mealy 
materials,'^  representing  chiefly  potato  starch  and  the  wastes 
of  starch  manufacture. 
3.  Molasses. 

The  distillation  of  rum  from  molasses  is  at  present  of  little 
importance.  In  the  early  years  of  the  beet  sugar  industry 
the  last  product  of  sugar-making,  molasses,  was  placed  upon 
the  market  at  low  prices  and  large  quantities  were  used  for 
distilling  purposes.  But  .with  the  advance  in  the  technic  of 
sugar  manufacture  methods  of  more  perfectly  crystalizing  the 
sugar  were  discovered.  Consequently,  the  price  of  good 
molasses  raised  greatly,  and  that  from  which  the  sugar  had 
largely  been  extracted  was  an  unsatisfactory  raw  material  for 
distilling.  In  addition,  alcohol  from  molasses  is  usually  from 
one  to  one  and  one-half  marks  lower  in  price  than  potato  or 
grain  spirits.  These  conditions  have  greatly  depressed  this 
once  flourishing  branch  of  distilling. 

In  1895  a  further  hindrance  was  placed  in  its  way  by  the 
restrictions  of  the  graduated  distilling  tax  of  that  year,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  molasses  distillers  must  pay  an  extra  tax 

1.    Sources  same  as  for  potatoes. 


34 

of  15  marks  a  hectoliter  for  all  the  spirits  produced  above 
twenty  i^er  cent,  more  than  the  tax-free  quantity — the  so- 
called  "Kontingent"— allotted  them  by  the  law *^  of  1887.^ 
This  sets  a  limit  on  production  which  cannot  be  exceeded,  even 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  and  though  the  price 
of  molasses  has  been  very  low  of  recent  years  the  rum  pro- 
duced has  not  increased  in  amount. 

The  distillers  using  molasses  are  chiefly  located  in  the  beet 
sugar  districts  of  Xorthern  Germany,  the  province  of  Saxony, 
Anhalt,  Hanover,  Brunswick  and  Silesia.  The  city  of 
Madgeburg  is  the  center  of  the  sugar  industry  as  well  as  of 
molasses  distilling.  The  number  of  tons  of  molasses  and 
beets  used  in  recent  years  follow :  1887-88,  27,720 ;  1888-80,. 
25,487;  1889-90,  28,039;  1890-91,  73,541;  1891-92,  95,370;. 
1892-93,  37,461;  1893-94,  33,826;  1894-95,  76,459;  1895-96,. 
43,006;  1896-97,  44,540;  1897-98,  46,970;  1898-99,  34,986. 
4.  Other  Materials. 

The  other  materials  used  are  chiefly  brewers'  grains,  fruit,, 
wine,  pomace,  etc.     The  amount  of  brewers'  grains  has  de- 
clined greatly  in  recent  years,  being  better  utilized  as  cattle 
food  when  spirits  are  low  in  price.     The  following  statistics 
are  in  thousand  hectoliters :     1887-88,    299;    1888-89,    279 
1889-90,  233;  1890-91,  237;    1891-92,    253;    1892-93,    225 
1893-94,    188;    1894-95,    180;    1895-96,  183;    1896-97,  165 
1897-98,  128;  1898-99,  116. 

Fruits,  wine  and  pomace  depend  entirely  on  the  crop,  but 
the  production  of  brandy  is  considerable  as  the  materials  used 
show:  1887-88,  414  thousand  hectoliters;  1888-89,  1,076; 
1889-90,552;  1890-91,684;  1891-92,  670;  1892-93,  678;. 
1893-94,  1,527;  1894-95,  1,034;  1895-96,  679;  1896-97,  909;. 
1897-98,  789 ;  1898-99,  708. 
g.  Product. 

In  the  quantity  of  alcohol  produced  Germany  stands  first 
among  the  Nations,  Eussia  probably  follows,  and  then  come 
France,  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  The  following 
data  have  been  compiled  from  the  statistical  publications  of 

1.    See  Vierteljahrshefte  zur  Statistik,  etc.,  1897,  vol.  ii,  p.  116. 


35 

the  nations  mentioned.  No  estimates  for  Austria  are  avail- 
able since  189  G,  and  the  amounts  of  several  others  have  been 
beyond  our  reach.  The  quantity  for  Russia  is  somewhat  un- 
certain, but  it  is  official:  Germany  produced  295.1  million 
liters  of  pure  alcohol   in   1895;    1896,    333.3;    1897,   310.0; 

1898,  328.7;  1899,  381.5.  Russia's  amount  for  1895  was 
353.7;  1896,  373.1;  1897,  359.4;  1898,  344.5.  France  in 
1895  yielded  216.5;  1896,  202.2;  1897,  220.8;  1898,  241.2; 

1899,  "^260.0.  The  United  States  in  1895  reported  154.9; 
1896,  170.1;  1897,  121.6;  1898,  158.3;  1899,  189.4.  Great 
Britain  in  1895,  117.1;  1896,  128.7;  1897,  142.0;  1898, 
158.3.  Austria,  1895,  138.8;  1896,  139.7.  Hungary,  1895, 
94.2;  1896,  94.4;  1897,  102.6;  1898,  105.4. 

The  amounts  and  kinds  of  alcohol  produced  in  Germany 
since  the  formation  of  the  Union  in  1887  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  new  system  of  taxation  are  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing table. 


36 


111 
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11 

3058025 
2727051 
3144801 
29()9149 
2948244 
3028910 
32()-JG85 
2951671 
3333648 
3100505 
3297890 
381 5509 

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37 

The  immediate  influence  of  the  higher  taxation  was  to  con- 
siderably lessen  the  amount  of  spirits  produced,  which  in  the 
years  before  1887  is  estimated  to  have  averaged  four  million 
hectoliters  for  the  entire  empire.  But  this  was  an  overpro- 
duction, according  to  the  market  condition,  which  had  been 
unfavorable  since  1884.  In  the  early  eighties  the  German  in- 
dustry had  been  greatly  favored  by  the  rapid  expansion  of  the 
export  trade,  which  rid  the  home  market  of  the  excess  product, 
and  so  aided  in  the  maintenance  of  good  prices.  The  average 
yearly  export  between  1870  and  ^79  was  49.1  million  liters 
and  between  1880  and  ^84,  74.18  million  liters.  This  export 
was  chiefly  to  the  wine  growing  countries  of  Southern  Europe, 
whose  vineyards  were  being  ravaged  by  the  Phylloxera  at  this 
time.  ,  Especially  was  export  favored  by  a  trade  treaty  with 
Spain,  which  country  imported  German  spirits  to  take  the 
place  of  the  wine  exported  to  France  as  a  result  of  the  short 
French  crops.  However,  these  favorable  conditions  did  not 
last  long.  Cheap  Eussian  potato  spirits,  favored  by  an  ex- 
port premium,  as  well  as  the  Austrian  and  American  product, 
began  to  compete  with  Germany  in  her  best  markets.  Be- 
tween 1885  and  1892  the  exports  declined  from  87.7  to  8.3 
million  liters,  and  the  result  was  a  sharp  fall  in  price  from 
53.40  marks  a  hundred  liters  of  pure  spirits  in  1883  to  34.80 
marks  in  1888.^  In  addition,  the  potato  crops  were  unusually 
good  for  several  years,  and  they  were  distilled  in  spite  of  the 
ever-sinking  price  of  spirits.  The  industry  faced  a  crisis. 
Efforts  were  made  by  the  producers  to  limit  the  amount  dis- 
tilled, but  without  success.  This  was  the  condition  at  the 
passage  of  the  law  of  1887,  which  increased  the  tax  by  300  per 
cent.  In  spite  of  higher  taxation  there  continued  to  be  an 
excess  of  several  hundred  thousand  hectoliters  over  the  needs 
of  Germany,  which  could  be  only  partially  exported  on  ac- 
count of  Russian  and  Austrian  competition,  and  th(*  re- 
mainder greatly  depressed  the  market. 

In  1885  the  government  sought  to  still  further  lower  the 
production  by  imposing  an  additional  tax  on  all  plants  pro- 

1.  H.  w.  b.  der  Staatswissenschaften  ii,  p.  1064, 1095  and  Vierteljahrshefte  zur 
Statistik,  1900  i,  prices. 


38 

ducing  more  than  300  hectoliters  yearly.  The  amount  by 
which  this  special  tax  exceeds  the  export  drawbacks  is  used  as 
an  export  premium  of  6  marks  a  hectoliter  to  free  the  domestic 
market  of  the  excess*  The  immediate  result  was  a  great  in- 
crease in  export  and  a  rise  in  price. 

The  world's  price,  hbwever,  did  not  follow  that  of  Germany, 
for  Roumania  and  Hungary,  as  a  result  of  the  excellent  maize 
crops,  could  supply  spirits  more  cheaply  than  Germany,  and 
exports  declined  again  in  1887.  After  1898  they  assumed 
large  proportions  once  more,  chiefly  because  of  the  Russian 
alcohol  monopoly,  which  was  extended  over  35  provinces  in 
1898.  The  better  prices  and  good  potato  crops  have  led  in  the 
last  years  to  a  renewed  activity,  particularly  in  potato  distill- 
ing, with  an  increased  production,  the  amount  for  1899  being 
the  greatest  since  1887. 

From  the  table  giving  the  product  of  the  distilleries  of  var- 
ious classes  we  are  now  in  a  position  to  ascertain  the  amount 
produced  by  the  purely  agricultural  stills,  and  thus  to  gain 
a  still  clearer  idea  of  their  importance  to  the  German  indus- 
try. Bringing  together  the  product  of  the  country  stills, 
potato  and  grain,  but  not  including  the  fruit,  we  have  the 
following  results  for  the  last  five  years :  The  product  of  the 
agricultural  stills  for  1894-95  was  2,355,203  hectoliters,  79.3 
per  cent,  of  the  total  product;  1895-96,  2,852,980  hi.,  85.5 
percent.;  1896-97,  2,618,319  hi.,  84.4  per  cent.;  1897-98, 
2,798,196  hi.,  85.1  per  cent;  1898-99,  3,347,386  hi.,  87.7  per 
•cent.  The  farmers  of  Germany,  according  to  this,  produce 
from  materials  raised  by  themselves  over  80  per  cent,  of  all 
the  spirits  distilled  in  the  country,  and  all  the  residues  from 
this,  the  chief  branch  of  the  industry,  after  being  fed  to  great 
herds  of  cattle,  return  to  the  soil.  But  in  addition  to  the  120 
million  marks  coming  to  the  farmers  yearly  from  the  sale  of 
thei*  alcohol,  there  is  also  the  demand  of  the  industrial  dis- 
tillers, who  are  among  their  best  customers  for  potatoes,  rye, 
barley  and  other  products. 

An  estimate  of  the  money  value  of  the  materials  taken 
from  agriculture  and  returned  to  it  by  the  distillers  is  inter- 


39 

testing,  and  may  help  to  an  appreciation  of  the  significance  of 
the  industry  to  the  farmers  of  Germany.  Talving  the  average 
market  price  for  several  3^ears  as  the  basis  of  our  estimate,  we 
secure  the  following  results.  The  distillers  used  in  1899, 
258  million  double  centners  of  potatoes  at  3  marks  a  double 
centner^  or  an  entire  value  of  77.5  million  marks;  346  million 
double  centners  of  grain  at  15  marks  a  double  centner,  or  51.9 
million  marks.  An  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  fruit  is  im- 
possible. Together  these  amounts  give  the  sum  of  129.4  or 
round  130  million  marks  as  the  value  of  the  product  taken 
from  a,griculture  by  the  distilling  industry  in  1899.  If  we 
also  include  the  materials  consumed  by  the  brewers,  for  the 
sake  of  completeness,  we  have  the  following :  In  1899  round 
18  million  double  centners  of  brewing  barley  was  used  at  18 
marks  a  double  centner  of  a  value  of  324  million  marks; 
300,000  double  centners  of  other  grain  worth  4  million  marks ; 
171,000  double  centners  of  hops  at  300  marks  a  double  centner 
or  51.3  million  marks.  Together  this  made  a  value  of  379.3 
million  marks  paid  for  material  by  the  brewers.  Placing  the 
amounts  for  distilling  and  brewing  together,  we  have  as  an 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  raw  material  taken  from  agricul- 
ture in  1899,  408.7  million  marks. 

But  the  large  amount  of  by-products  given  back  to  agricul- 
ture  must  not  be   forgotten.     As  estimated   by  an  expert^ 
they  have  a  yearly  value  of  62.2  million  marks : 
From  the  distillers — 
Potato  "schlempe,''  25  mil.  d.  c.  @  60  pfennigs.  .15.0  mil.  m. 

Distillers'  grains,  600,000  d.  c.  @  9.00  marks 5.4  mil.  m. 

From  the  brewers — 

Brewers'  grains,  18  mil.  d.  c.  @  2.00marks 36.0  mil.  m. 

Malt  sprouts,  720,000  d.  c.  (a)  8.00  marks 5.8  mil.  m. 

62.2  mil.  m 

Dr.  Bode  estimated  the  amount  of  land  needed  in  1892  to 

produce  the  materials  used  by  the  distillers   and   brewers   at 

1,658,605  hectares  or  16,586  square  kilometers,  i.  e.,  a  plot  of 

1.    Dr.  Th.  Remyin  E.  Struve's  Erlass  eines  Surrogat— Ver  bots,  etc.    Berlin 
1899,  p.  50. 


4U 

land  larger  than  Baden,  15,081  square  kilometers  or  Saxony, 
14,922  square  kilometers,  and  one-fifteenth  of  the  entire  agri- 
cultural land  of  Germany/ 

From  an  economic  and  sociological  standpoint,  it  is  a  grave; 
question  whether  or  not  Germany  can  afford  the  use  of  such 
a  per  cent,  of  her  land  and  labor  in  the  production  of  an  arti- 
cle of  which  the  vast  majority,  at  least  at  present,  is  used  in 
ways  only  injurious  to  the  consumer,  and  lessening  his  de- 
mand for  other  things  which  would  add  to  the  physical,  men- 
tal and  spiritual  capabilities  of  the  nation. 
lY.     Ppssible  Developments. 

a.  The  Extensive  Use  of  Spirits  for  Technical  Pur- 
poses and  the  Possible  Results  Therefrom. 
We  have  seen  the  great  importance  of  the  distilling  indus- 
try to  the  agriculture  of  Germany  at  the  present  time,  but 
within  recent  years  possibilities  of  development  have  opened 
up  that  seem  almost  unlimited.  We  refer  to  the  extension  of 
the  use  of  alcohol  for  technical  and  mechanical  purposes. 

The  German  law  allows  spirits  made  unlit  for  human  con- 
sumption by  the  addition  of  spirits  of  wood,  pyrimidin  basis, 
turpentine,  sulphuric  acid,  shellac,  etc.,  to  go  untaxed.  The 
most  common  mixture  used  is  the  "algemeine  denaturirungs- 
mittei,*^  which  is  composed  of  four  parts  of  spirits  of  wood, 
and  one  part  of  pyrimidin  basis,  and  is  procurable  from  the 
revenue  officials  at  a  cost  of  75  to  80  marks  for  100  liters. 
Anyone  may  use  this  preparation  in  the  proportion  of  15 
liters  of  it  to  100  liters  of  pure  alcohol.  The  mixing  musi; 
take  place  in  the  presence  of  two  revenue  officials,  and  the  alco- 
hol must  not  be  less  than  73  per  cent.  pure.  Since  March, 
1897,  the  retail  of  such  "denaturirte"  spirits  is  not  condi- 
tioned, needs  no  concession  or  license,  and  in  Prussia  the  re- 
tailers pay  no  business  tax  (betriebs-steuer).  There  are  only 
certain  conditions  to  be  complied  with,  as  to  the  announce- 
ment of  the  business  to  the  tax  officials,  and  as  to  the  strength 
of  the  spirits  sold.^ 

All  these  arrangements  have  been  made  by  the  government 

1.  Dr.  Win.  Bode,  Der  deut.  Alkoholfrage.    Leipsic,  1892,  p.  10. 

2.  Kalendar  fuer  das  landwictschaftliche  Gewerbe,  1898;  p.  5, 


41 

with  tlio  view  of  furthering  the  use  of  such  spirits,  and  the  in- 
crease in  consumption  within  recent  years  has  been  suprising. 
The  amounts  used  in  the  former  tax  union  were  as  follows: 
1880-81,  9.32  mil.  liters;  1882-83,  13.00  mil.  liters;  1884-85, 
14.41  mil.  liters;  1886-87,  18.31  mil.  liters.^ 

For  the  years  since  the  law  of  1887  and  for  the  entire  em- 
pire the  development  has  been  as  follows :-  1887-88,  387 
thousand  hectoliters;  1888-89,  431;  1889-90,  531;  1890-91, 
519;  1891-92,  551;  1892-93,  607;  1893-94,  664;  1894-95, 
719;  1895-96,  808;  1896-97,  867;  1897-98,  889;  1898-99, 
•990;  1899-1900,  1,043;  1900-01,  1,156. 

During  the  fourteen  years  there  has  been  an  increase  in  the 
amount  of  absolute  alcohol  so  used  of  298  per  cent.,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  per  capita  use  has  increased  from  .8  literc^ 
in  1887-88  to  2.0  liters  in  1900-01.  During  the  same  period 
the  amounts  of  alcohol  prepared  with  the  general  "denatur- 
irun^-s-mitter'  were  as  follows:  1887-88,  138  thousand  hec- 
toliters; 1888-89,  176;  1889-90,  245;  1890-91,  244;  1891-92, 
275;  1892-93,  315;  1893-94,  364;  1894-95,  414;  1895-96, 
479;  1896-97,  528;  1897-98,  529;  1898-99,  610.  In  1899, 
442  per  cent,  more  spirits  were  prepared  with  the  mixture 
than  in  1888.  In  1888,  35  ])er  cent;  in  1899,  61  per  cent,  of 
all  the  "denaturirte"  spirits  was  made  with  the  general  mix- 
ture. As  the  spirits  thus  prepared  is  that  which  is  used  for 
heating,  lighting,  motor  running,  etc.,  we  see  that  the  in- 
creased use  has  been  almost  entirely  along  these  lines. 

With  the  appearance  of  the  incandescent  gas  mantel,  or 
Wellsbach  burner,  the  possibility  of  the  use  of  spirits  for  light- 
ing purposes  existed,  and  inventive  genius  has  succeeded  in 
producing  spirit-lamps  for  general  lighting  which  are  in  every 
way  excellent,  giving  a  soft  but  brilliant  light.  The  lamps 
are  clean  and  easily  cared  for,  as  there  is  no  danger  of  smoke. 
They  produce  no  heat  and  are  in  almost  every  particular  su- 
perior to  the  petroleum  lamp.  In  addition  there  has  been  a 
great  deal  of  interest  in  recent  years  in  the  production  of 
:spirit  motors,  which  can  successfully  compete  with  the  petro- 


1.  Zeitschrift  f  uer  die  Spiritus-industrie.  1897 ;  p.  179. 

2.  Vietteyahrshefte  zur  Statistik.  etc.,  1900:  ii..  p.  11  F. 


42 

leum  and  gasoline  motors  so  extensively  used  by  small  manu- 
facturing establishments  in  Germany.  Encouraged  by  prizes 
offered  by  the  trade  and  by  Emperor  William,  excellent  ma- 
chines have  been  invented,  and  the  extensive  exhibits  of  such 
motors  in  the  German  agricultural  fairs,  etc.,  in  the  last  three 
or  four  years  show  that  from  the  standpoint  of  efficiency,, 
safety  and  cleanliness  they  have  no  need  to  fear  the  compe- 
tition of  petroleum  and  gasoline.  Only  one  thing  stands  in 
the  way  of  the  almost  unlimited  extension  of  the  use  of  spirits 
for  light,  heat  and  power  production,  and  that  is  the  price, 
which  must  be  low  enough  to  compete  with  petroleum  and  its 
products.  The  chief  difficulty  in  the  past  has  been  the  con- 
nection between  the  price  of  alcohol  for  drinking  and  for 
technical  purposes.  If  the  two  could  be  divorced,  and  the 
price  on  the  former  raised  very  materially,  so  that  the  profit 
on  its  sale  would  allow  the  sd,le  of  "denaturirte"  spirits  at  les^ 
than  the  cost  of  production,  the  problem  would  be  solved. 

In  1899  an  organization  of  the  producers  and  refiners  came 
into  existence,  which  has  the  accomplishment  of  this  very 
thing  in  view,  namely,  the  alcohol  trust  or  the  ^^^Centrale  fuer 
Spiritus-Verwertung.'^  This  is  a  union  of  the  chief  dealers 
in  and  refiners  of  spirits,  and  the  "Verwertungs-Verbando 
Deutcher  Spiritus-Fabrikanten"  joined  together  to  secure 
better  prices  for  their  product.  For  many  years,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  distilling  interests  had  been  suffering  from  low 
prices.  Protected  by  a  high  tariff  from  foreign  competition,. 
and  aided  by  the  low  tax  on  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
product,  there  seemed  to  be  no  reason  why  an  organization  of 
the  principal  producers  might  not  be  able  to  control  the  mar- 
ket and  secure  higher  prices.  Many  efforts  were  made  toward 
these  ends,  but  not  until  1899  did  any  of  the  plans  become  a 
reality.  Early  in  the  year  the  society  of  the  leading  distillers, 
"Verein  der  Spiritus-Fabrikanten,"  began  the  agitation  look- 
ing toward  union  of  all  the  alcohol  interests.  The  intellectual 
leaders  of  the  movement  were  successful,  and  by  April  1st,. 
75  per  cent,  of  the  agricultural  distillers  had  been  secured. 
The  remainder  of  the  dealers  and  manufacturers  were  too- 
\\^ak  to  resist  and  joined  the  macvement,  which  began  its  offi- 


43 

cial  activity  October  1,  1899,  controlling  about  90  per  cent,  of 
the  product. 

The  plan  is  as  follows:^  The  great  firms  have  organized 
the  "Centrale,"  with  a  capital  of  6,000,000  marks,  nominally, 
but  in  reality  with  a  financial  strength  represented  by  the 
capital  of  all  the  firms  belonging  to  the  Union.  The  "Cen- 
trale,*'  with  headquarters  at  Berlin,  has  pledged  itself  to  buy 
all  the  spirits  that  distillers  supply  at  a  price  agreed  upon  at 
the  beginning  of  each  business  year,  October  1st ;  to  place  the 
spirits  on  the  market  at  the  highest  price  which  seems  wise, 
not  excessive,  but  one  which  will  give  a  fair  return  on  capital; 
and  at  the  end  of  the  year  to  pay  the  various  distillers  the 
"verwertungs-praemie,"  or  profits  per  hectoliter,  after  the 
cost  of  handling  and  sale  have  been  deducted.  The  producers, 
on  the  other  hand,  have  bound  themselves  to  the  "Centrale" 
for  nine  years  and  all  spirits  produced  by  them  must  be  de- 
li verad  to  the  trust  for  sale  irrespective  of  the  market  price. 
Of  course  the  hope  is  that  through  union  the  market  can  be 
controlled,  and  better  prices  secured  for  all.  Now  the  part 
that  is  of  particular  importance  to  us.  Liquor  for  drinking 
purposes  is  to  be  sold  at  high  prices,  while  the  excess,  which 
would  lower  the  price  of  all  if  placed  on  the  market,  is  to  be 
mixed  with  the  "denaturirungs-mittel,"  and  sold  for  technical 
purposes.  The  "Centrale'^  has  every  interest  in  furthering 
the  use  of  '^'"denaturirte"  spirits  as  much  as  possible,  as  only 
by  the  extension  of  such  use  can  it  hope  to  be  successful  in  its 
plans,  and  its  efforts  are  meeting  with  great  success  every- 
where. 

The  use  of  spirits  for  lighting  had  not  been  greater  before 
because  the  dealers  would  not  give  up  the  habit  of  large  profits 
which  hindered  the  expansion  of  the  trade.  Only  in  certain 
districts,  especially  in  Saxony,  were  the  prices  low,  and  the 
dealers  rejoiced  in  a  large  and  steady  trade.  The  "Centrale" 
considered  these  conditions  and  decided  on  the  following  plan, 
adopted  in  June,  1900.  The  trust  fixes  the  retail  price  for 
different  localities  and  sells  to  the  dealers  at  prices  differing 

1.  The  statements  concerning  the  trust  and  its  activities  are  largely  based  on 
an  interview  with  Prof.  Wittleshoefer,  the  director  of  the  Centrate,  who  kindly 
explainld  the  organization  and  its  plan. 


u 

from  two  to  three  marks  a  liectoliter.  Those  bindinp:  them- 
selves to  the  established  retail  price,  which  allows  20  per  cent, 
profit,  receive  the  spirits  from  the  " Central e"  at  the  lower 
price.  The  trust  advertises  the  sale  in  the  papers  and  the 
stores  where  spirits  can  be  secured,  thus  forcing  the  others  to 
sell  at  the  lower  price.  The  merchants  took  kindly  to  the 
plan  and  in  October,  1900,  four  months  after  its  introduction, 
there  were  25,000  pledged  to  sell  ^'Centrale"  spirits  at  a  uni- 
form price.  Stores  are  being  opened  in  many  localities  deal- 
ing only  in  spirits  and  all  sorts  of  lamps,  stoves,  etc.,  for  its 
use.  From  June  to  December,  1900,  over  11,000  such  stoves 
were  sold,  and  many  more  lamps.  The  management  of  the 
royal  railway  of  Saxony  introduced  spirit-lamps  into  a  large 
number  of  their  stations  where  gas  and  petroleum  were  for- 
merly used  and  have  contracted  with  the  trust  for  their  spirits 
at  a  reduced  price.  The  Prussian  railway  management  has 
also  been  experimenting,  and  has  ordered  spirit-lighting  for 
all  the  workmen^s  rooms  where  oil  has  been  used.  The  Bavar- 
ian railways  have  also  introduced  spirit-lamps  quite  exten- 
sively. In  1900,  the  Prussian  raihvay  system  used  600,000 
liters  of  "Centrale''  spirits;  the  Bavarian  189,000,  and  the 
Saxon  50,000.  Cities  are  also  introducing  spirit-lamps  for 
street  lighting,  and  by  December,  1900,  twenty-five  had  con- 
tracted with  the  "Centrale"  to  supply  spirits  to  them  till  190S. 

In  order  to  further  the  use  of  spirit-motors  the  trust  has 
established  a  special  price  on  spirits  for  power  production  that 
makes  it  able  to  compete  with  gasoline,  when  quantities  not 
under  5,000  kilograms  are  purchased. 

The  significance  of  this  increased  use  of  alcohol  for  heating 
and  lighting  to  the  distillers  and  particularly  to  the  farmers 
of  Germany  must  at  once  be  apparent.  It  opens  up  to  them 
an  almost  unlimited  demand  for  the  product  of  their  stills. 
If  alcohol  can  be  placed  on  tlie  market  at  the  present  prices, 
from  five  to  seven  and  one-half  cents  a  liter,  there  is  no  reason 
w^hy  it  should  not  take  the  place  of  a  great  part  of  the  petro- 
leum that  is  now  used.  Germany  is  absolutely  dependent  on 
'foreign  countries  for  coal  oil  and  imports  great  quantities  of 
it,  chiefly  from  America.     If,  by  the  general  introduction  of 


45  «   «  .•    . 

spirits  for  heat  and  light,  the  nation  can  partially  free  herself 
from  her  dependence  on  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  it  would 
be  the  cause  for  great  rejoicing. 

But  at  the  same  time  the  country  would  be  working  a  bless- 
ing to  her  agriculture  difficult  to  overestimate.  With  a  profit- 
able market  for  spirits,  a  great  many  farmers,  who  do  not 
now  own  plants,  would  undoubtedly  carry  on  distilling  m 
connection  with  their  other  operations,  thereby  greatly  bene- 
fiting the  soil,  and  general  agricultural  interests.  In  addi- 
tion, there  are  thousands  of  square  miles  of  sandy  ground  in 
Northern  Germany  which  denuded  of  their  forests  are  dreary 
wastes,  or  are  being  reclaimed  at  great  expense  by  the  gov- 
ernment, that  are  well  suited  to  potato  culture,  and  could 
easily  be  brought  under  cultivation  if  planted  to  them. 

Distilling  in  Germany  is  certainly  of  greater  importance, 
particularly  to  agriculture,  than  is  generally  supposed,  and 
development  along  the  lines  indicated  will  everywhere  be  ob- 
served with  interest. 

A  Bibliography  of  the  principal  works  used,  but  not  includ- 
ing the  statistical  publications  of  the  government: 

Baer,  A.,  Alcoholismus,  Leipsic. 

Bode,  Dr.  W.,  Der  deut.  Alkoholfrage,  Leipsic. 

Conrad,  J  ,  Hwb.  derStaatswissenschaften,  Leipsic;  article,  "Branntwein." 

Dieterici,  Stat.  Uebersicht  der  wichtigston  Gegenstaende,  etc.,  in  preuss. 
staates,  Berlin,  1839-45. 

Engle,  E ,  Der  Branntweinbrennerei  in  ihrer  Beziehurg  zur  Landwirt- 
schaft. 

Ertel,  u.  Licht,  Das  Iws.  Genossenschaflswesen  in  Dl.,  Vienna. 

Ferber,  C.  W.,  Beitraege  zur  Kentniss,  etc.,  der  Preuss.  Monarchie,  Ber- 
lin, 1829.  ' 

Glaeser,  Die  Steuersysterae  bei  der  Branntweinfabrikation,  Brieg. 

Grotjohn,  Alkoholismus. 

Laves,  '•  Die'Eutwickelung  der  Brennerei,  n.  der  Branntweinbesteuerung 
in  Dl."  in  Jhb.  fuer  Gesetzgebnng,  vol.  ii,  1887. 

Meitzen,  Aug.,  Der  Boden  u.  die  Iws.  Verhaeltnisse  des  Pr.  Staates,  Berlin. 

Meyer,  S  ,  Die  interationale  Spiritus-Produktion,  Vjs.  f aer  Volkswirt- 
schaft,  1883. 

Stahlfchmidt,  C,  Die  Gaehrungs  Chemie,  Berlin. 

Struve,  E.,  Bayerisches  Brau-Gewerbe,  Leipsic. 

Wolt,  Die  Branntweinsteuer. 

Zeitschrift  fuer  die  Spiritus-Industrie,  Berlin. 

Alcohol,  a  periodical,  Berlin. 


UI 


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